State the number of electrons lost or gained when the following elements form ions.

Question

S

Answer 1

In order to determine the number of electrons lost or gained when sulfur (S) forms ions, we need to know the electron configuration of sulfur.

The electron configuration of sulfur is 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁴, which means it has six valence electrons (2 in the 3s subshell and 4 in the 3p subshell).

When sulfur forms an ion, its most common form is a sulfide ion (S²⁻), where it gains two electrons. Therefore, the number of electrons gained by sulfur when it forms an ion is 2.