Are there 8 protons in a fluoride ion?
No. The fluoride ion has 9 protons. Remember that the atomic number of F is 9. That’s the neutral F atom. Atomic number is equal to the number of protons and number of electrons. So Fluorine has 9 electrons too. The fluoride ion has 9 protons and 10 electrons. This is because the fluoride ion gained an extra electron to become a negatively charged ion.
