Formation of Negative IonsJust as positively charged ions (cations) are formed by losing an electron; negatively charged ions (anions) are formed by gaining electrons.
For an example I'll use Carbon and Nitrogen (since nonmetals have an attraction for electrons). Carbon's configuration is: 1s2 2s2 1p2. Nitrogen's configuration is: 1s2 2s2 1p3. If Carbon gained an electron, it would have the same configuration as Nitrogen. As with positive ions, by Carbon gaining an electron, it does not become a Nitrogen atom. |