Chemistry
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Ions
Aqueous solutions and ions
1) Cations and anions
There are two different kinds of ions:
The cations are ions which have one or more positive electrical charges.
The anions are ions that have one or more negative electric charges.
2) Electrical neutrality
A substance is electrically neutral if it has as many positive electrical charges as negative electrical charges.
3) Aqueous solutions
All aqueous solutions are neutral:
- The molecular aqueous solutions (where the solute is composed of molecules) are neutral because it contains molecules that are themselves neutral.
- Aqueous ionic solutions (whose solute consists of ions) are neutral because positive charges carried by cations are compensated by the negative charges carried by the anions.
Comment: The neutrality of an ionic solution implies that the cations are always accompanied by anions and inversely.
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