* Group 6A Elements: Group 6A (also known as Group 16) on the periodic table contains the elements oxygen (O), sulfur (S), selenium (Se), tellurium (Te), and polonium (Po).
* Anions: Anions are negatively charged ions formed when an atom gains electrons.
* 36 Electrons: To have 36 electrons, the anion must have gained electrons.
Finding the Element:
1. Neutral Atom Electrons: Start by finding the number of electrons in a neutral atom of each Group 6A element. You can do this by looking at the atomic number (which is the same as the number of protons and, in a neutral atom, the number of electrons).
2. Electrons Gained: Since the anion has 36 electrons, determine how many electrons it gained by subtracting the number of electrons in the neutral atom.
3. Identifying the Element: The element that gains the correct number of electrons to reach 36 will be the answer.
Let's work through an example:
* Sulfur (S): Sulfur has an atomic number of 16, so a neutral sulfur atom has 16 electrons. To reach 36 electrons, it would need to gain 20 electrons (36 - 16 = 20). This is highly unlikely for sulfur.
* Selenium (Se): Selenium has an atomic number of 34. To reach 36 electrons, it needs to gain 2 electrons (36 - 34 = 2). This is a more likely scenario.
Therefore, the Group 6A element whose anion contains 36 electrons is Selenium (Se). The anion would be Se²⁻.