Magnesium reacts with an element to form an ionic compound. If the ground state electronic configuration of is , the simplest formula for this compound is

Question

Magnesium reacts with an element  to form an ionic compound. If the ground state electronic configuration of  is , the simplest formula for this compound is

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🧠 The Valency Matchmaker
An ionic compound is like a handshake—the total positive charge must match the total negative charge. To find the formula, we first need to determine how many "fingers" (valency) each element has.

🗺️ The Electronic Audit
1. Element X: Configuration .
   - Valence electrons .
   - To complete its octet, it needs  more electrons.
   - Valency of X .
2. Magnesium (Mg): Atomic number , configuration .
   - It wants to lose  electrons.
   - Valency of Mg .
3. Criss-Cross R

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