why Cl more active than Cl-

ghallya

Hi , I have an other question , I know Its a stupid question to you brialliant ppl
but I hope I find the answer here

why are Cl atoms more chemically active than Cl- ion ?
and why are Na atoms more chemically active than Na+ ion ?

thanx

Meir Achuz

The ions have closed shells. It is difficult to add or remove an electron, or even share one covalently.

ghallya

thanx for ur reply Meir , but can u give me a more detailed answer
with some explanations

Meir Achuz

I am not a chemist. Ask on a chem forum or read a chem text.

ghallya

ok thanx , give me alink that can help me , plz

Hootenanny

Suggestion to mentors: Possibly move to chemistry forums?

~H

GCT

think the octet rule, and read up on it.

Gokul43201

This results directly from the Octet rule. Write the electronic configurations of these atoms/ions - you will see that Cl- and Na+ have 8 electrons each in the valence shell. This is the magic number needed to maximize the stability of the atom/ion (ie : make the total potential energy of the system = sum of all electron-nucleus interaction energies + electron-electron interaction energies as negative as possible).

ghallya

thhhhhhhanx very much Gokul43201

I really appreciate your help

crabsallover

Read Peter Atkins book The Periodic Kingdom http://tinyurl.com/ol6lq pages 171-173 for an explanation of the differences in reactivity of Na / Na+ and Cl/Cl-.

ghallya

thanx crabslover
I want you all to know , that our books or differnt than your books
and its written in the cover (not for sale in th US )
I dont know why , but we dont understand simple things cuz we are not that good in english but we are forced to study it to graduate
Im sorry if I was anoying
and thanx to all who helped us

Ghallya

rohit619

:
good qwestion!
i beleive that cl atoms r reactive just bec. of their config. they want to complete their octet and gets converted into corrosponding ion,
same is the case with with na ,
na is just having a free electron in its valence shell,and it want to lose it to
get its octet completed
one more general reason is u can rember
every ion is having its partner to neutalize its charge
so does any bare atom,it become reactive and combine to have its valence electron shared or lost.