Question

The sodium ion has a unit positive charge, but the sodium atom has:
(a) No charge
(b) +2 charge
(c) +1 charge
(d) +3 charge

Answer 1

Hint: While the ion is a charged particle, the sodium atom is in the elemental state of Sodium. Try thinking of what the charges of most elements in their elemental states are.

Complete step-by-step answer:
Let us first look at the properties of Sodium as an element before moving onto a narrower analysis on the basis of this question.
> Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 of the periodic table. Its only stable isotope is $${}^{\text{2}}{}^{\text{3}}Na$$.
>When sodium forms an ion, it will form an $N{a_{{}^{}}}^{+}$ cation.
This is because sodium has one valence electron (one electron in its outer shell). When forming an ionic substance, it will donate this electron thus having eleven protons and ten electrons for a charge of +1
However, this question does not consider the $N{a_{{}^{}}}^{+}$cation but the elemental state of Sodium, so let us now focus our analysis on that now.
Sodium atoms have no charge, sodium has eleven protons in its nucleus and eleven electrons orbiting it, just as it is for any element in the elemental state. This makes it electrically neutral. So the correct answer is (a).

Note: Remember that the elemental state of an element is ALWAYS neutral, regardless of whether it is found freely in nature or not. It is very important for this question that you do not confuse yourself between an ion and an atom in its elemental state.