which is the charge that results when oxygen becomes an ion ?
Oxygen has 6 valence electrons. To fill up the valence shell, which has 8 electrons, an oxygen atom wants to gain 2 electrons. Since every electron has a single negative charge, the addition of two electrons results in an oxygen ion with a charge of −2.
This is true of every other element located beneath oxygen on the periodic table (the oxygen family, or the chalcogens).
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