Question

How can sodium and chlorine help each other achieve the octet configuration?

Answer 1

Sodium has the electronic configuration of 2, 8, 1 while chlorine has the electronic configuration of 2, 7. To achieve the octet configuration, sodium needs to lose 1 electron while chlorine needs to gain 1 electron. Hence transfer of 1 electron takes place from sodium to chlorine atom. Therefore both the atoms achieve the octet configuration of neon (2, 8).