Cation

A positively charged ion is called cation . The positive charge is a result of losing electrons. See the example below for potassium.

Figure 1: A potassium (K) atom has an equal number of protons and electrons (19) and is hence uncharged. In contrast, a potassium cation (K⁺) has lost one electron. This results in more protons than electrons and gives K an overall positive charge of +1. The charge is indicated by a superscript.