cation or anion?

[Nienjou Claire 1E]

How do you know if an element will be a cation or anion if it is the same distance away from 2 different noble gases? Will they provide you with the information?

[Adela Henry 1I]

They should provide you with that information by giving you the element such as K+ or N^2-
An element with a + is a cation (and thus you take away electrons) and an element with a - is an anion (so you add electrons). So two elements when in the ion form could have the same electron configuration but you should be told if it is for a cation or an anion.
Hope this helps

[Luis Avalos 1D]

If it gains electrons, it will be negatively charged which is an anion. If it loses electrons, it will be positively charged which is a cation.

[EllenRenskoff-1C]

For metals, it is more likely that they would lose electrons and become a cation, and for gases, it is more likely that they would gain electrons and become an anion. So I think to answer the original question, it would depend on what type of element is in question to figure out which type of ion it becomes.

[Jada Larson 1F]

Elements want the most stable electron configuration possible, so they will lose electrons and be positively charged (cations) or gain electrons and be negatively charged (anions) to become more like the noble gases, which are stable. That is why elements on the left side of the periodic table, like magnesium, become cations (Mg --> Mg²⁺), and elements towards the right, such as chlorine, become anions (Cl --> Cl^1-).