Salt, NaCl, is formed by the ionic bonding of sodium and chlorine. The ions, one sodium and one chlorine, have a charge. What is the overall charge of the NaCl molecule?
A. -2
B. 0
C. +1
D. +2
Sodium has a positive 1 charge and chloride has a negative 1 charge. Thus one sodium cation cancels one chloride anion resulting in the formula Na1Cl1 or NaCl. This formula is called the "formula unit" since it represents only one unit of the vast NaCl array or lattice.
