What is the Ionic Charge of Arsenic (As)? And Why?

The common Ionic Charges of Arsenic (As) are 3-, 3+ and 5+.

But the question is how can you find the ionic charge on Arsenic (As)?

Well, arsenic is one of the elements that have a variable ionic charge.

The ionic charge of arsenic depends on what it is bonded with.

So let’s try to find out the ionic charge of Arsenic (As) using some examples.

You can also refer to the below video from which you will learn to find charge of any ion.

How to find the ionic charge of Arsenic (As)?

As I mentioned earlier, the ionic charge of Arsenic (As) can be found out by looking at what it is bonded with.

So let’s take examples of compounds of Arsenic (As) like AsH₃, AsCl₃, As₂O₅, etc.

Example 1: AsH₃
In AsH₃, the Arsenic (As) is bonded to Hydrogen (H).
You know that the ionic charge of H is 1+.
So you can easily say that the ionic charge of As should be 3-, then only it will get canceled out.
Hence the ionic charge of Arsenic in AsH₃ is 3-.

Example 2: AsCl₃
In AsCl₃, the Arsenic (As) is bonded to Chlorine (Cl).
And again, you know that the ionic charge of Cl is 1-.
So here also you can easily say that the ionic charge of Cl should be 3+, then only it will get canceled out.
Hence the ionic charge of Arsenic in AsCl₃ is 3+.

Example 3: As₂O₅
Similarly in As₂O₅, the Arsenic (As) is bonded to Oxygen (O).
And you know that the ionic charge of O is 2-.
So from this, you can easily say that the ionic charge of As should be 5+, then only it will get canceled out.
Hence the ionic charge of Arsenic in As₂O₅ is 5+.

In this way, Arsenic can have variable charges depending on what it is bonded to.

But as seen from the above examples,
The most common charges of Arsenic (As) are 3-, 3+ and 5+.

I hope you have understood why arsenic has variable ionic charges.

Check out some other related topics for your practice.

Related topics:
Charge on Sulfuric acid (H2SO4)
Charge on Nitric acid (HNO3)
Charge on Acetic acid (CH3COOH)
Charge of O3 (Ozone)
Charge of Neon (Ne)