Question

Which group of elements typically forms ions with a 2+ charge?

Answer 1

`"The Group 2 metals..........."`

Explanation:

`"The Group 2 metals; the alkaline earths"`.

Look at the Periodic Table, and look at the second COLUMN; you see `Be, Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba`. Because the Periodic Table reflects electronic structure, all of these metals have the TWO VALENCE ELECTRONS, which can be lost on oxidation. (Metals are electron-rich species that tend to be oxidized).

And we can represent the oxidation:

`Mg rarr Mg^(2+) + 2e^-`

On the other hand, the transition metals of the `"d-block"` commonly form bivalent metal cations:

`MrarrM^(2+) + 2e^-`

These electrons are also conceived to derive from `"s-orbitals."`