Questions: How does fluorine become an anion? Fluorine is a group 7 element! It loses 1 electron. It gains 1 electron. It gains 3 electrons. It loses 2 electrons.

Solution Steps

Fluorine has 9 protons and thus 9 electrons in its neutral state. It has 7 valence electrons (electrons in the outermost shell).

Atoms tend to gain or lose electrons to achieve a full outermost shell (usually 8 electrons, called an octet). Fluorine is one electron away from a full octet.

It's easier for fluorine to gain one electron than to lose seven electrons to achieve a stable configuration.

Final Answer