What is the charge on the most stable ion of K?

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Reiterating the question: What is the charge on the most stable ion of K? The options given are: +3, -2, 0, +2, +1, -3, -1.

Option +3: Potassium is in Group 1 of the periodic table and has one valence electron. Gaining three electrons to form a -3 charge would require adding three electrons to a highly electropositive metal, which is highly unfavorable. Therefore, this is not the most stable ion.

Option -2: This would imply potassium gains two electrons. While halogens often gain electrons to form negative ions, alkali metals like potassium do not gain electrons under typical conditions; they tend to lose electrons instead. So -2 is not plausible for a stable ion of K.

Option 0: A neutral potassium atom would have no net charge, but in chemistry, alkali metals almost exclusively form cations by losing their single valence electron. A zero formal charge corresponds to a neutral atom, not an ion, making this an unlikely 'stable ion' in ionic contexts.

Option +2: Losing two electrons would require removing two electrons from potassium, which is energetically far less favorable than removing just one electron. Since K has only one valence electron, removing two is not the typical pathway to a stable ion; this makes +2 unlikely as the most stable ionic form.

Option +1: Potassium's single valence electron is readily lost to achieve a noble gas configuration, resulting in K+ with a +1 charge. This is the common and most stable ionic form for potassium in compounds like KI or K2O. The energetics and periodic trend (Group 1 elements form +1 ions) support this as the most stable.

Option -3: Reaching a -3 charge would require potassium to gain three electrons, which is unfavorable for an alkali metal with a single valence electron and a high tendency to lose electrons. This makes -3 an unlikely stable ion for K.

Option -1: A -1 charge would mean potassium gains one electron. As discussed, alkali metals prefer electron loss to electron gain, and -1 would contradict the typical chemistry of K, making it an unstable ion for potassium.

In summary, considering electronic structure, periodic trends, and common ion formation behavior of alkali metals, the most stable ionic state for potassium is achieved by losing its single valence electron to form a +1 ion, while the other charges correspond to unfavorable electron transfer or neutral atom scenarios in typical chemical contexts.

CHEM 110 Section 3 (PM) SP25 Pre-Lecture 10 Quiz C04-4-5

What is the charge on the most stable ion of K?

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