The Reaction between Sodium and Chlorine.
Chlorine has 7
electrons in its outer shell.
It is in group 7 of the
periodic table.
When an atom of chlorine
reacts
it will gain one electron
from sodium.
The outer shell of chlorine will then
have 8 electrons
and be full.
The chloride ion will have an extra electron and
therefore an extra negative charge (shown as a - sign).
The electrostatic
force of attraction
between the
oppositely
charged ions is called an ionic bond.
The electrons are shown as dots and crosses
to
show how they have
moved during the reaction.
In reality all electrons are
identical.
The balanced chemical equation for the above reaction is
sodium + chlorine 
sodium chloride.
2Na(s)
+ Cl2(g)
2NaCl(s)
Sodium chloride is a crystalline
ionic compound.
It forms a giant structure.
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