Fill in the blanks. Among magnesium and chlorine, magnesium atom can give two electrons to become Mg²⁺. However, chlorine can take only one electron to become _____. Now, _____ ion of magnesium and _____ ions of chlorine combine to give magnesium chloride.
Cl⁻, one, two
Explanation
According to the textbook context, a chlorine atom gains one electron to acquire a negative charge, becoming a chloride anion represented as Cl⁻. Since a magnesium atom gives two electrons to become Mg²⁺, and each chlorine atom can only accept one electron, it requires two chlorine atoms to accept the two electrons. Therefore, one ion of magnesium and two ions of chlorine combine to form magnesium chloride, ensuring that the positive and negative charges balance each other to create a neutral overall structure.
Solution Steps
Step 1: Identify the ion formed by chlorine. The context states chlorine gains one electron to become a chloride anion, Cl⁻.
Step 2: Determine the ratio of ions. Magnesium forms a Mg²⁺ ion by giving two electrons. Since each Cl atom takes only one electron, two Cl⁻ ions are needed to accept the two electrons from one Mg²⁺ ion.
Step 3: Fill in the blanks with 'Cl⁻', 'one', and 'two'.