Why do nonmetals tend to form negative ions during a chemical reaction?

Answer 1

Well, non-metals #"tend"# to be oxidizing......

And that is they tend to accept electron density, and in doing so (i) become reduced, and (ii) cause oxidation in the electron donor....

Dioxygen, and difluorine are the most reactive and oxidizing elements on the Periodic Table; i.e. they have a high nuclear charge that is ineffectively shielded by their valence electrons, and thus their redox potential tends to be high:

#1/2F_2 + e^(-) rarr F^(-)# #;E^@=2.87V#
#1/2O_2 + 2H^(+) + 2e^(-) rarr H_2O# #;E^@=1.23V#

And thus non-metals (with the exception of the Noble Gases) have a high effective nuclear charge, that is UNSHIELDED by the valence shell, with the result that they are oxidizing, and thus accept electrons to form anions.........

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Answer 2

Because nonmetals have a greater propensity to gain electrons in order to reach a stable electron configuration—typically, a full outer electron shell, like the configuration of a noble gas—they frequently form negative ions during chemical reactions.

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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.

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.

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.

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.

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