Aluminum (Al) has 13 protons in its nucleus. What is the number of electrons in an Al³⁺ ion?

Question

Aluminum (Al) has 13 protons in its nucleus. What is the number of electrons in an Al³⁺ ion??  
A. 16  
B. 13  
C. 10  
D. 3

Accepted Answer

Correct Answer: (B)13. 
Rationale: The Al³⁺ ion contains 10 electrons.Aluminum has an atomic number of 13, which means a neutral aluminum atom contains 13 protons and 13 electrons. When aluminum forms an Al³⁺ ion, it becomes positively charged by losing electrons. A 3+ charge indicates that three electrons have been removed from the neutral atom. As a result, the total number of electrons decreases while the number of protons in the nucleus remains unchanged.A. 16Having 16 electrons would mean aluminum gained three additional electrons, producing a 3− charge (Al³⁻), not a 3+ charge. The question specifically refers to a positively charged ion.B. 13Thirteen electrons correspond to a neutral aluminum atom. Once aluminum forms an Al³⁺ ion, it no longer has the same number of electrons as protons.C. 10An Al³⁺ ion has lost three electrons. Starting from 13 electrons in the neutral atom, subtracting three electrons results in 10 electrons remaining.D. 3The value 3 represents the magnitude of the charge, not the number of electrons. An aluminum ion with only three electrons would be extremely unstable and would not correspond to Al³⁺.ConclusionThe charge on an ion indicates how many electrons have been gained or lost relative to the neutral atom. Aluminum starts with 13 electrons, and forming a 3+ ion means losing three of them. This leaves the Al³⁺ ion with 10 electrons, while the nucleus still contains 13 protons.

Aluminum (Al) has 13 protons in its nucleus. What is the number of electrons in an Al³⁺ ion?

A
16

B
13

C
10

D
3

The Al³⁺ ion contains 10 electrons.

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Aluminum (Al) has 13 protons in its nucleus. What is the number of electrons in an Al³⁺ ion?

A 16 B 13 C 10 D 3

The Al³⁺ ion contains 10 electrons.

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Related Questions

A
16

B
13

C
10

D
3