answersLogoWhite

0

Cations are positive ions formed by the loss of electrons. As cations have less number of electrons, the effective nuclear charge increases and as such,the remaining electrons are more tightly bound by the nucleus and there is a reduction in size. In most of the cases, the parent atom loses all the valence electrons in order to form a cation leading to the reduction of one shell(the valence shell).

User Avatar

Wiki User

12y ago

What else can I help you with?

Related Questions

What is formed when atoms lose electrons?

A cation, which is a positively charged ion, is formed when an atom loses electrons.


How are the smaller atoms formed?

the bigger atoms exploded making much smaller ones


How does the size change when an atom forms a cation and when an atom forms an anion?

A metal atom is smaller than the cation formed from it, because the electron(s) lost from a metal atom to form its cations are from the outermost electron shell or energy level of the atom. These electrons increase the size of the atom compared with the cation.


What is the different and what is the same between an atom and an element?

Atom is neutral while cation is positively charged so cations have less electrons than corresponding atoms, another difference is that cations are always smaller in size as compare to their respective atoms.


How does the size of a cation compare with the size of the neutral atom from which it is formed?

An ion is an atom that carries a charge because it has more or less electrons than its neutral form. An electron weighs less than 0.06% of a proton and doesn't take up any real space, therefore an ion is not different in size than its neutral atom.


Which best explains why cations are smaller than atoms from which they are formed?

A cation has had electrons removed. So, although cations and their parent atoms have the same number of protons in the nucleus they have a different number (lower) of electrons. This means the same number of protons pulls the smaller number of electrons closer to the nucleus and so the remaining electrons are more tightly bound by the nucleus and hence the reduction in size.


How do the sizes of cations and anions relate to the atoms they form from?

Cations are formed when atoms lose electrons and hence are smaller in size than the corresponding atoms. Anions are formed when atoms gain electrons and hence are larger in size than the corresponding atoms.


What are formed by atoms losing electrons?

Ions are formed when atoms lose electrons, resulting in a positively charged cation. This process occurs when an atom becomes more stable by achieving a full outer electron shell through electron loss.


What atoms forms the cation in the compound rubidium oxide?

Rubidium will form cation: Rb+


What are smaller cations or anions?

cations are smaller than the atoms from which they were formed because they lost an electron thus becoming smaller in size. anions are bigger than the atoms from which they were formed because they gained an electron and increasing in size. the greater the nuclear charge, the smaller they are. Source(s):general chemistry 4th edition textbook


How does the diameter of the K atom compare to the diameter of the K plus cation?

The K+ cation is much, much smaller than the neutral K atom--as much as 10 time smaller. This is true of all atoms and their cations, since in a cation there are more protons than electrons. Because of this, the protons' pull on the electrons is very strong, pulling the electron cloud much closer to the nucleus


What is the formula for a compound formed between aluminum and sulfur atoms?

The formula for the compound formed between aluminum and sulfur atoms is Al2S3. This is because aluminum typically forms a 3+ cation, while sulfur forms a 2- anion, resulting in a compound with a 2:3 ratio of aluminum to sulfur atoms.