OxScience

The basic difference between cation and anion is that A cation is an ion with a positive electric charge, this means that it has lost electrons and is in a positive oxidation state. An anion is an ion with a negative electrical charge, this means that it has gained electrons and is in a negative oxidation state.

Cation

A cation is an ion that has a positive electric charge, that is, it has lost electrons. The cations are in an oxidation state.

To understand what a cation is, we must first understand what an ion is. This is nothing more than an atom, or group of atoms, that obtains an electrical charge through the gain or loss of electrons. A cation is one that has a positive electric charge by losing electrons and forming ionic bonds with anions.

In our body, there are cations such as sodium and potassium, essential for the functioning of our nervous system. Another of its functions is the transport of molecules organized into the cells thanks to the electrochemical potentials that they maintain in their membranes.

Anion

An anion is an ion with a negative electrical charge, this means that it has gained electrons and is in a negative oxidation state.

There are three types of anions: monatomic, polyatomic, and acidic.

Monoatomic: Nonmetals that have gained electrons and completed their valence.

Polyatomic: They come from molecules that have lost electrons.

Acid anions: These are those that come from a polyprotic acid that has lost hydrogen atoms. They also come from acids that have lost protons.

• A cation is an ion that has lost one or more electrons and as a consequence has a net positive charge.
• The cation is smaller in size than their respective neutrally charged atoms. This is because the loss of an electron makes it easier for the protons to attract the remaining electrons, reducing the diameter of the cation.
• An anion is an atom that has gained one or more electrons, giving it a negative charge.
• Anions are atoms larger than their respective neutrally charged atoms. The addition of electrons increases the repulsive power between them and moves them away from the protons in the nucleus, thus increasing the radius of the anion.