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Question
what is the charge of a cation?
no charge
a positive charge
the charge depends on the size of the nucleus.
a negative charge
A cation is formed when an atom loses electrons. Since electrons are negatively - charged particles, losing them results in an overall positive charge. Atoms are neutral (no charge) when they have equal numbers of protons (positive) and electrons (negative). When electrons are lost, the number of protons (positive charge) exceeds the number of electrons (negative charge), giving the cation a positive charge. The charge of a cation has nothing to do with the size of the nucleus.
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B. a positive charge