1. Determine the charges of the ions:
* Magnesium (Mg) is in group 2 of the periodic table, so it forms a +2 cation (Mg²⁺).
* Fluorine (F) is in group 17, so it forms a -1 anion (F⁻).
2. Balance the charges:
To achieve a neutral compound, we need two fluoride ions (2 x -1 = -2) to balance the +2 charge of the magnesium ion.
3. Write the empirical formula:
The empirical formula represents the simplest whole-number ratio of ions in the compound. Since we need two fluoride ions for each magnesium ion, the empirical formula is MgF₂.
