Calcium (Ca) is an alkaline earth metal found in Group 2 of the periodic table and typically forms +2 cations (Ca²⁺). To form a stable molecule with the formula CaX, the atom represented by X would need to be from a group that can provide anions with a -2 charge to balance the +2 charge of calcium.
The most common type of atoms that can represent X are nonmetals from Group 16 (the chalcogens), which includes oxygen (O), sulfur (S), and selenium (Se).
Among these, the most straightforward and common example would be oxygen, which forms the oxide ion (O²⁻). Therefore, the stable molecule formed would be calcium oxide (CaO).
In summary, the atom X could be oxygen (O) for the formula CaX, resulting in CaO, but it could also include sulfur (S) to form CaS if considering other nonmetals in Group 16.
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