Question

How can ionic compounds be neutral if they consist of positive and negative ions?

Short answer

The charges of the anions and cations cancelled each other out in ionic compounds.

Step-by-step solution

Define ionic compounds

The ionic compounds are chemical compounds that are formed from the cations (metals) and anions (nonmetals). The general chemical formula for binary ionic compounds is expressed as${\mathbf{M}}_{\mathbf{p}}{\mathbf{X}}_{\mathbf{q}}$ .

Here, M is a cation with more electropositive metals and X is an anion with more electronegative nonmetals, p and q are subscripts of Mand N respectively.

How ionic compounds can be neutral

The total number of negative charges of the anions is exactly equal to the total number of positive charges of the anions in ionic compounds. Although containing both positive and negative ions, they are electrically neutral (zero net charge overall).