Which ion does sulfur most commonly form in ionic compounds?

• A. S^{-}
• B. S^{2-}
• C. SO_4^{2-}
• D. S^{2+}

Answer: (B)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Recall that sulfur is a nonmetal in group 16 of the periodic table, which means it has 6 valence electrons.
2. To achieve a stable octet configuration, sulfur tends to gain electrons to fill its valence shell to 8 electrons.
3. Since sulfur has 6 valence electrons, it needs to gain 2 electrons to complete the octet, resulting in a charge of 2-.
4. Therefore, the most common ion formed by sulfur in ionic compounds is the sulfide ion, represented as \(S^{2-}\).
5. Note that \(SO_4^{2-}\) is a polyatomic ion called sulfate, which contains sulfur but is not a simple ion formed by sulfur alone.