Question

cations have ________ electrons and thus have a ________ charge.

lost; positive

gained; negative

lost; negative

gained positive

Explanation:

To solve this, we recall the definition of cations. Cations are positively - charged ions. An atom becomes a cation when it loses electrons. Since electrons are negatively charged, losing electrons means the positive charge (from protons) is greater than the negative charge (from remaining electrons), resulting in a positive overall charge. So we check the options:

• Option "lost; positive": Losing electrons leads to more protons (positive charge carriers) than electrons (negative charge carriers), so the ion has a positive charge. This matches the definition of a cation.
• Option "gained; negative": Gaining electrons would make an anion (negatively charged ion), so this is incorrect.
• Option "lost; negative": Losing electrons can't result in a negative charge, so this is incorrect.
• Option "gained positive": Gaining positive particles is not how ions form; ions form by gaining or losing electrons, so this is incorrect.

Answer:

A. lost; positive (assuming the first option is labeled A, if not, the option with "lost; positive")