Rubidium (Rb) is an alkali metal found in Group 1 of the periodic table. It has one valence electron in its outermost shell. Because of this single valence electron, rubidium tends to lose that electron in chemical reactions to achieve a stable electron configuration, similar to that of noble gases.
Therefore, the correct option is:
Rb loses an electron.
When rubidium loses one electron, it forms a positively charged ion (Rb⁺). This behavior is characteristic of alkali metals, which typically form ionic bonds with nonmetals by transferring their single valence electron.
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