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How do the electronic structures of the atoms of a metallic element change when they react?

Answer 1

Peyton Adams

Metals are usually oxidized......

And oxidation involves the LOSS of the valence electrons, cf.

#Ca rarr Ca^(2+) + 2e^-# or......

#Fe rarr Fe^(2+) + 2e^-#

#Fe rarr Fe^(3+) + 3e^-#

And for every oxidation reaction, there is a corresponding reduction reaction, usually of dioxygen to give the metal oxide, i.e. for iron to give rusts.....

Would the ionic radius be greater or less than the metallic radius? Why?

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Answer 2

Owen Ambrose

In most cases, metallic atoms react by losing electrons to produce positively charged ions, which alters their electronic structure by reducing the number of electrons in their outermost energy level.

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Answer from HIX Tutor

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.