Question

How do sodium and chloride ions hold together in a solid crystal?

Answer 1

Hint : We know that ionic compounds are usually compounds that have metal and non-metal. Ionic bonds hold the ions combined to give rise to ionic compounds. Ionic compounds are crystalline and the regular arrangement of ions and orderly way. Metal and non-metals could be present either in phase of solid, liquid or gas.

Complete Step By Step Answer:
When in molten or aqueous state, ionic compounds have the ability to conduct electricity. Ionic bonding is the broad transfer of outermost electrons among atoms. In ionic bonds, we have to know that an electron is lost by metal and becomes positively charged cation whereas those electrons are accepted by nonmetals and become a negatively charged anion
The ionic compounds are those compounds that are formed between a metal with a nonmetal when there is transfer of electrons. The bond formed in ionic compounds is known as ionic bonds. Ionic compounds exhibit the presence of positively charged ions termed as cations and negatively charged ions termed as anions. These compounds exist as solids in nature and show high boiling and melting points.
Sodium chloride is an ionic compound. The compound comprises sodium and chlorine elements. Sodium is a metal that is present in group one (alkali metals) and chlorine is a nonmetal that is present in group seventeen (halogens). The number of outermost electrons is one in sodium and seven in chlorine.
$NaCl$ is an ionic compound and so the formation takes place due to transfer of electrons from sodium to chlorine atom. Chlorine needs to gain one electron to attain its nearby gas stable electronic configuration and sodium needs to lose one electron to attain its stable electronic configuration. Therefore, sodium transfers one electron to chlorine. Chlorine gains one electron and sodium chloride is formed by ionic bond.

Note :
Note that all ionic compounds contain cations as well as anions. The summation of the charges present in an ionic compound is always zero (overall). Ionic bonds hold the ions firmly leading to ionic compounds. Because of the existence of ionic bonds between them, they contain strong melting and boiling points.