An example of an element that will form an ion with a plus 2 charge is Magnesium (Mg). Magnesium is a metal found in Group 2 of the periodic table, also known as the alkaline earth metals. Elements in this group have two electrons in their outermost shell.
When magnesium forms an ion, it loses these two valence electrons to achieve a stable electron configuration, similar to that of the nearest noble gas, neon. The loss of two electrons results in a positively charged ion, specifically a +2 charge. The chemical symbol for the magnesium ion is Mg2+.
This process can be represented by the following equation:
Mg → Mg2+ + 2e–
In this equation, Mg represents the neutral magnesium atom, Mg2+ is the magnesium ion with a +2 charge, and 2e– represents the two electrons that are lost during the ionization process.