Question

Differentiate between Na and Na⁺.

Answer 1

Sodium atom ($\mathrm{Na}$)

• The symbol $\mathrm{Na}$ is the chemical name of Sodium atom.
• According to the periodic table, the atomic number of the Sodium atom is 11.
• Since the atomic number is equivalent to the number of protons in an atom, the number of protons in a Sodium atom is 11.
• In a neutral atom, the number of protons is equal to the number of electrons. Since $\mathrm{Na}$ is a neutral atom, the number of electrons in $\mathrm{Na}$ is also 11.
• Its electronic configuration is 2, 8, 1.

Sodium ion (${\mathrm{Na}}^{+}$)

• The symbol ${\mathrm{Na}}^{+}$ is the chemical name of Sodium ion.
• Sodium ion (${\mathrm{Na}}^{+}$) is formed by the loss of one electron from the Sodium atom ($\mathrm{Na}$).
• $\mathrm{Na}\to {\mathrm{Na}}^{+}+{\mathrm{e}}^{-}$
• Since, one electron is lost in the formation of Sodium ion, the number of electrons in Sodium ion is 10.
• $$\begin{gathered} \mathrm{Number}\mathrm{of}\mathrm{electrons}\mathrm{in}{\mathrm{Na}}^{+}=\mathrm{Number}\mathrm{of}\mathrm{protons}-\mathrm{Total}\mathrm{positive}\mathrm{charge} \\ =11-1 \\ =10 \end{gathered}$$
• The electron configuration of Sodium ion is 2, 8.

$\mathrm{Na}$	${\mathrm{Na}}^{+}$
$\mathrm{Na}$ is the chemical name of Sodium atom.	${\mathrm{Na}}^{+}$ is the chemical name of Sodium ion.
2. The number of electrons in Sodium atom is 11.	2. The number of electrons in Sodium ion is 10.
3. The electronic configuration of Sodium atom is 2, 8, 1.	3. The electronic configuration of Sodium ion is 2, 8.