Answer to Question #26489 in Inorganic Chemistry for kashif baig

Question

what is meaning of an in anion

Answer 1

First of all we'll say what in general is an "ion".

An ion is an atom or molecule in which the total number of electrons is not equal to the total number of protons, giving the atom the overall positive or negative electrical charge.

An is from Greek word meaning "up", because Anion has more electrons than protons, giving it the overall negative charge, and "cat" in the word "cation" means "down", because Cation has less electrons than protons, giving it the overall positive charge.