Question

`Na^+` is the chemical symbol for what ion?

Answer 1

The sodium cation.

Explanation:

As you know, an ion is simply an atom that has a net charge, i.e. that is not electrically neutral.

Atoms become ions when the gain or lose electrons. In this case, the ion carries an overall `1+` charge, which means that it lost on electron.

As you know, the identity of an atom is given by the number of protons present inside its nucleus. Since an atom becomes an ion by gaining or losing electrons, it follows that the number of protons located inside the nucleus remains constant.

Therefore, you can say that the ion will have the same chemical symbol as the neutral atom. In this case, `"Na"` is the chemical symbol given to sodium, which means that `"Na"^(+)` is the chemical symbol given to the sodium cation.