What characteristic of an atom influences the behavior of the valence electron the most in an atom? (Hint: Consider the charge of the particles)?

The higher its electronegativity, the more an element attracts electrons.

Explanation:

Electronegativity is a property that describes the tendency of an atom to attract electrons (or electron density) toward itself. An atom's electronegativity is affected by both its atomic number and the size of the atom.

nacl or sodium chloride is an ionic compound. this is because an ionic compound pertains to a compound that consists of positively and negatively charged ions. in this case, na (sodium) has a tendency to lose one electron when it reacts with with other atoms, so the resulting sodium ion contains 11 protons and 10 electrons, thus making it positively charged (na+), when chlorine reacts, it usually gains one electron to form an ion called chloride, thus making it negatively charged ( since the ions are oppositely charged, they attract.