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Ion

This video presents the same text shown beside it, spoken and on screen. It adds nothing the text does not say.

State

An ion is an atom or molecule whose electron count no longer equals its proton count, giving it a net charge.

Show

A neutral sodium atom, 11 protons and 11 electrons, becomes the Na+ ion after losing one electron: 11 protons, 10 electrons.

Watch for

An ion's proton count never changes — only its electron count does. Isotopes instead vary in neutrons, never in charge.