Sulfur is in group VIA. Predict the number of electrons that sulfur gains or loses to form stable ions. Explain your reasoning. Write the symbol of the ion.

Answer 1

Sulfur is in group VIA of the periodic table, which means it has 6 valence electrons. To form stable ions, sulfur can either gain 2 electrons to achieve a filled outermost energy level (8 electrons), or it can lose 6 electrons to achieve a stable octet (full outermost energy level).

Considering that gaining 2 electrons would require less energy than losing 6 electrons, sulfur is more likely to gain 2 electrons. This is because the energy required to remove 6 electrons and the resulting high positive charge would make the process unfavorable.

Thus, sulfur gains 2 electrons to form the stable sulfide ion, which is represented as S2-.