* Oxygen's Electronic Configuration: Oxygen has 6 electrons in its outer shell, and it wants to achieve a stable octet configuration with 8 electrons.
* Sodium's Electronic Configuration: Sodium has 1 electron in its outer shell and wants to lose that electron to achieve a stable octet configuration in the previous shell.
* Ionic Bonding: When sodium and oxygen react, sodium *loses* its one electron to oxygen. Oxygen, receiving two electrons from two sodium atoms, completes its octet.
This creates:
* Sodium ions (Na+): Sodium atoms become positively charged ions because they lose an electron.
* Oxide ions (O2-): Oxygen atoms become negatively charged ions because they gain two electrons.
The electrostatic attraction between these oppositely charged ions forms the ionic compound sodium oxide (Na2O).
In summary: Oxygen gains two electrons in its reaction with sodium, not loses one. This is a fundamental principle of ionic bonding, where atoms achieve stability by gaining or losing electrons to form ions.
