Ions

Before you can understand pH, you need to learn about Ions.

Ions is an atom or molecule that carries an electrical charge.

A little confusing? ⤵

Did you know that Atoms naturally has electricity? Well now you know! So where does the electricity come from? It comes the Protons and Electrons (Neutrons have no electricity charge because they are Neutral).

However, Electrons does more of the electric charges and here's why.

• Protons are stuck in the middle of the atom (the nucleus) withe the Neutrons. So they never move around. They just sit there being positive. So why do they electricity if they just sit there? Well that’s just how they are! They are born positive with electric.

• Electrons are loose, circling on the outside they so fast but also very jumpy like excitement! They want to hop and hop into another atom or move out of it. They love to move around!

Because electrons like to hop in and out of an atom, that’s when the electricity happens!

Normally an atom is balanced with 6 protons, 6 electrons and 6 neutrons. They all have the same number of each so it doesn’t have any electricity happening.

It only happens when an electron moves (hop away gets added), that’s when an atom becomes charged (an ion). They become charged because the atom have too many or two few electrons so they feel a little “electric”.

So overall of Ions: it is an atom or molecule that carries an electric charge. This happens when the number of protons does an equal the number of electrons. (Basically an atom or molecule that isn’t balanced anymore).

2 TYPES OF IONS

We have 2 types of ions: Cations and Anions.

1) Cation ⤵ The ion with a positive electrical charge.

An atom or molecule becomes a cation (positively charged) when it has lost one or more electrons meaning there are more protons (positives) than electrons (negative).

2) Anion ⤵ The ion with a negative electrical charge

An atom or molecule becomes an anion (negatively charged) when it has gained one or more electrons, meaning there are more electrons (negatives) than protons (positive).

By the way: This process of electrons getting out of at atoms according to other atoms is a normal process, balance is actually the starting point and it depends on the atom. It’s actually like Atoms giving electrons or letting them hop into another atom.