What is a trace element? an element that is evenly distributed on the planet an element that is required in miniscule amounts for life an element that is used to identify the location of other elements an element that is very rare?

nacl or sodium chloride is an ionic compound. this is because an ionic compound pertains to a compound that consists of positively and negatively charged ions. in this case, na (sodium) has a tendency to lose one electron when it reacts with with other atoms, so the resulting sodium ion contains 11 protons and 10 electrons, thus making it positively charged (na+), when chlorine reacts, it usually gains one electron to form an ion called chloride, thus making it negatively charged ( since the ions are oppositely charged, they attract.

it forms an anion that has a larger radius. anions have a negative charge and are larger than the original atom.