if by symbols you mean the letters you see on the periodic table then a symbol is an atom
e.g. Fe = iron
C = Carbon
several of these symbols next to one another would be a molecule
e.g. C2H5OH = ethanol
Rb+
Nitraite = NO3 One Nitrogen atom (N) Three Oxygen atoms (O3)
'Fluoride atom'. ???? The fluorine ATOM is 'F' The fluorine molecule is 'F2'. The Fluoride ION is 'F^-' NB When an atom becomes a charged species, it is no longer an atom , but an ION. The suffix '--ide' indicates it is an ion, not an atom. So 'Fluoride atom' is a nonsense. It is either 'Fluoride ion' or Fluorine atom'.
The symbol for the cation formed when a potassium atom loses one electron is K+, and is named the potassium ion.
The Lewis symbol for a magnesium ion (Mg^2+) would consist of the symbol "Mg" with a 2+ charge shown as two dots next to the symbol to represent the loss of two electrons from the neutral magnesium atom.
a positive sign in an atom symbol denotes an ion, for example, Fe2+
Rb+
The symbol is S2- because to become an ion a sulfur atom gains two electrons and each electron has a 1- charge.
P-
Nitraite = NO3 One Nitrogen atom (N) Three Oxygen atoms (O3)
The ion charge is typically written as a superscript to the right of the element symbol in an isotope symbol. For example, if an atom loses one electron to become positively charged, the ion charge would be indicated as a +1 next to the element symbol.
'Fluoride atom'. ???? The fluorine ATOM is 'F' The fluorine molecule is 'F2'. The Fluoride ION is 'F^-' NB When an atom becomes a charged species, it is no longer an atom , but an ION. The suffix '--ide' indicates it is an ion, not an atom. So 'Fluoride atom' is a nonsense. It is either 'Fluoride ion' or Fluorine atom'.
The symbol for the cation formed when a potassium atom loses one electron is K+, and is named the potassium ion.
The Lewis symbol for a magnesium ion (Mg^2+) would consist of the symbol "Mg" with a 2+ charge shown as two dots next to the symbol to represent the loss of two electrons from the neutral magnesium atom.
The chemical symbol for bicarbonate is HCO3-. This is because it has one carbon atom surrounded by three atoms and a hydrogen atom attached to one of them. The negative charge comes from one formal charge.
The symbol for a sulfur atom that has gained 2 electrons is represented as S^2-.
potassium