Question

making a connection: 5. when a sodium atom bonds with a chlorine atom sodium prefer to lose 1 electron rather than gain 7 electrons. can you think of an explanation for why? (hint: think back to the markers)

Explanation:

Atoms tend to reach a stable full valence electron shell (8 electrons, or 2 for small atoms) with minimal energy input. Sodium has 1 valence electron; losing this 1 electron gives it the stable electron configuration of neon (a noble gas) with low energy cost. Gaining 7 electrons to fill its valence shell would require far more energy to attract and hold those electrons, and the resulting highly negative ion would be unstable. This follows the octet rule for chemical stability.

Answer:

Sodium loses 1 electron instead of gaining 7 because this requires much less energy to achieve a stable full valence electron shell (matching the noble gas electron configuration of neon), which is the lowest-energy, most stable state for the atom.