What is an ion? Why are ionic compounds not made of a molecule?

An ion is an atom or set of atoms where there is no balance between total number of electrons and protons. That is the number of electrons is either greater than or less than number of protons. Examples are Cl- , H+,( CO3)2-. Ionic compounds are formed because of attraction between two oppositely charged ions rather than a chemical bond between two ions. So they are not made up of a single molecule. For example NaCl is made up of the ions Na+ and Cl-

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