Identify hydrogen on the periodic table. The periodic table organizes all of the elements. The hydrogen ion derives from the hydrogen atom. Therefore, you should find hydrogen on the periodic table to understand more about its characteristics. Hydrogen is located in group one of the periodic table, on the left side. The reason why hydrogen is placed in this location is because it only has a single valence electron, and tends to lose this electron to form the positive hydrogen ion. Even though hydrogen is located on the left side of the periodic table, it is a nonmetal.
Understand the subatomic particles that make up the hydrogen ion. The neutral hydrogen atom contains one proton and one electron. When the hydrogen ion is formed, the electron is lost and only one proton remains. Hydrogen atoms and ions have no neutrons. The small amount of subatomic particles allows hydrogen ions to have a very small mass.
Comprehend the properties of the hydrogen ions. Hydrogen ions have a very small atomic radius of about five to the negative 10 meters. The radius of the hydrogen ion is smaller than that of the hydrogen atom because when the electron is removed from the hydrogen atom, the electron repulsion is eliminated, yet the nuclear charge remains the same. Hydrogen has the highest ionization energy of the group one elements. Therefore, an abundance of energy is needed to remove the single electron on the hydrogen atom.
Learn the notation for hydrogen ions. Hydrogen ions, or protons, are written as H+. The H designates the element hydrogen, and the positive sign indicates that the hydrogen ions have a positive charge.