Silver forms which ion?

• A. Ag+
• B. Ag 2+
• C. Ag 0
• D. Ag -

Answer: (A)

Silver's typical oxidation state in compounds is +1. This arises because its outer electron is just one 5s electron; losing that electron gives a full d10 shell, which is very stable. That stability makes Ag+ the form most commonly found in salts and in aqueous solutions, such as in silver nitrate or silver chloride. Higher oxidation states like Ag2+ would require removing a second electron and are not stable under ordinary conditions, while the neutral metal exists as Ag0 and the negative ion Ag− is not formed in normal chemistry. So the ion silver forms in most situations is Ag+.