Hi, what does Ionized mean?

[pineappletree]

I've always thought that the term "ionized" meant either an electron addition or removal.
However, some practice problems I am working on indicate that only a positively charged ion is left at the end.


Was I wrong? Does ionized exclusively mean electron loss??



So is "positively charged" what I should ALWAYS consider an ionized particle to be?

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[Phantastic]

No, ionization could result from electron loss (creating a cation, positive) or from electron gain (creating an anion, negative).

 

[lesset01]

Sometimes books will use the term "ionized" with respect to the electron NOT the atom meaning the electron is being thrown off. This process would then leave behind a cation. The term "ionization" with respect to the ATOM means the loss or gain of e-. Very, very subtle difference.