Question

In general, what happens to metals when they form an ion?

Answer 1

They lose a few valence electrons.

Explanation:

According to the spdf theory, metals can have either a fixed number of electrons that they can lose, or can have multiple numbers of electrons they can lose. This is also determined as the valency of electrons.

In general, when metals form an ion, it is easier for them to lose electrons to attain a stable noble gas electronic configuration, as most metals have electrons arranged in such a way where it expends less energy to lose electrons rather than gain them.