why Na+ ion has 1 less electron than Na

Dear student

A cation is formed when a metal atom loses electrons.
Na(2,8,1) has 11 electrons. When Na loses an electron, it forms Na+ (2,8) which has 10 electrons,
Na  -e-Na+  
Thus Na+ has one electron less than Na

Regards
 

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Na is a neutral sodium atom which has a total of 11 electrons (atomic number is 11).
Na+ means that it has lost an electron and has a total of 10 electrons now. The positive charge on the atom simply means that the particular atom has lost that much amount of electrons.
Similarly, neutral Mg atom has 12 electrons and Mg2+ means that magnesium has lost 2 electrons and now has a total of 10 electrons.
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