What ion of barium is most stable?

1 Answer
anor277
Jan 7, 2017

Barium has 2 valence electrons, so.........

Explanation:

So upon oxidation it commonly forms a #"Ba"^(2+)# ion:

#"Ba" rarr "Ba"^(2+) + 2"e"^-#

So how do you know this? Well, you will always have access to a Periodic Table, and the #"Group Number"#, the vertical column in which the metal lies is #"Group 2"#. The #"2"# tells me there are 2 valence electrons, whose loss gives the #"Ba"^(2+)# ion.

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