Here's why:
* Sodium has one valence electron and readily loses it to achieve a stable octet configuration.
* Chlorine has seven valence electrons and readily gains one electron to achieve a stable octet configuration.
When sodium and chlorine react, sodium loses its valence electron to chlorine, forming a sodium cation (Na+) and a chloride anion (Cl-). These oppositely charged ions are then attracted to each other via electrostatic forces, forming an ionic bond.
Instead of a Lewis structure, we represent the ionic bond between sodium and chlorine using the following notation:
Na + Cl → Na+ + Cl-
The formation of sodium chloride (NaCl) is depicted as:
[Na]+ [Cl]-
This notation shows the transfer of an electron from sodium to chlorine and the formation of the ionic compound sodium chloride.
