When you have a choice of two or three ions, how do you determine which one to use in your cations/anions? Thanks!!

9 answers

What do you mean? Can you give me an example?

If their polyatomic, your going to just have to memorize the charges.
It depends on the reaction. If you are writing net ionic equations, you need to look for what is the product, and record the species of ions involved
Just a note to help in your writing. You should have written, "If they are or you could write the contraction they're) polyatomic, you areor you could have written the contraction you're) going to just ......charges.
Haha thanks. Everytime I'm on the internet, I always do that, espcially instant messaging.
It's a way of saving time with typing BUT it isn't a good habit to form. One time, long before I retired, I wrote a note to a colleague something like this, "If you wish I can order to of those for you to." He called to tell me to order two more and I looked at the note I had written. I'm sure I had to in my mind and I just wrote it both places instead of writing, "If you wish I can order two of those for you, too." Man, was I embarrassed. But it taught me to be a better proof reader. Through life we don't catch all those errors we make but we should make an effort to catch them, anyway. For IMing that sort of thing is ok. For texting it's generally ok. But for boards like this, ESPECIALLY where we have English teachers watching, we should write complete sentences in good English. I could use some help there, to/two/too. :)
LOL! That was funny. Yeah, I usually don't tend make mistakes like that when I'm writing it out, but on the internet, anything goes for me. I'll try to correct myself in the futre.
I mean like when you have an element, let's say iron, and you have the choice between choosing two and three as a charge.
It depends what the direction they say.

If they say Iron (III) its iron 3.
So Fe^3 would be the correct way to write it.

Read the directions.
Fe forms two usual kinds of compounds, both iron(II) and iron(III). Unless you are balancing an oxidation-reduction equation, stay with the ion you started with. For example,
FeCl2 + 2AgNO3 ==> Fe(NO3)2 + 2AgCl
Note that I have iron(II) on left and right. But, if I have
FeCl3 + 3AgNO3 ==> Fe(NO3)3 + 3AgCl
Here I have iron(III) on left and right.