Sodium reacts with chlorine to form the compound sodium chloride, or salt. The chemical formula below shows how the two elements combine into a compound.

Answer 1

The chemical reaction between sodium (Na) and chlorine (Cl) to form sodium chloride (NaCl) can be represented by the following equation:

\[ 2 \text{Na} (s) + \text{Cl}_2 (g) \rightarrow 2 \text{NaCl} (s) \]

In this equation:

• 2 Na (s) represents two atoms of solid sodium.
• Cl₂ (g) represents one molecule of chlorine gas, which consists of two chlorine atoms.
• 2 NaCl (s) represents two formula units of solid sodium chloride (table salt).

Sodium donates one electron to chlorine, allowing sodium to become a positively charged ion (Na⁺) and chlorine to become a negatively charged ion (Cl⁻). The resulting electrostatic attraction between the oppositely charged ions forms the ionic compound sodium chloride.