Rinkoo Gupta
Last Activity: 10 Years ago
In chemistry, bivalent is an older term for divalent, meaning an atom orionwith a valence of two. Valence refers to the number of covalent bonds that the atom or ion can form with other atoms. Covalent bonds are formed through the sharing of electrons in the outermost valence shell or orbit of an atom, so a bivalent atom or ion has, by definition, two valence electrons with which to form bonds. Bivalent anions and cations — ions with negative and positive charges, respectively — are important in many biological systems, including human metabolism.Bivalent ions are often important in chemistry as well. When an atom loses its two valence electrons but does not covalently bond, it becomes a positively charged ion, or cation. Similarly, an atom that gains electrons from its neutral state is said to be an anion. For example, sulfide, a bivalent anion, has a negative charge of two — it has two more electrons than protons. Magnesium and calcium, which commonly form bivalent cations, each have a positive charge of two
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Rinkoo gupta
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