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Here's the completed explanation for the formation of Calcium chloride ( $\text{CaCl}_2$ ):

Identify the valence electrons for each atom.
- Calcium (Ca) is in Group 2, so it has 2 valence electrons.
- Chlorine (Cl) is in Group 17, so it has 7 valence electrons.
Show the transfer of electrons from calcium to chlorine atoms.
Calcium will lose its 2 valence electrons to achieve a stable electron configuration (like Argon). Each chlorine atom will gain 1 electron to achieve a stable electron configuration (like Argon). Since calcium loses 2 electrons, two chlorine atoms are needed.
Draw the dot and cross diagrams for the resulting ions.
Calcium becomes a $\text{Ca}^{2+}$ ion, and each chlorine becomes a $\text{Cl}^-$ ion.

Initial atoms:
$\text{Cl} \quad \stackrel{\times}{\times}\stackrel{\times}{\text{Cl}}\stackrel{\times}{\times} \quad \text{Ca} \quad \cdot \text{Ca} \cdot \quad \text{Cl} \quad \stackrel{\times}{\times}\stackrel{\times}{\text{Cl}}\stackrel{\times}{\times}$
Electron transfer:
The two valence electrons from Calcium (represented by dots) are transferred, one to each Chlorine atom (where valence electrons are represented by crosses).

Resulting ions:
$\left[ \text{Ca} \right]^{2+} \quad \left[ \stackrel{\times}{\times}\stackrel{\times}{\text{Cl}}\stackrel{\times}{\times} \cdot \right]^{-} \quad \left[ \stackrel{\times}{\times}\stackrel{\times}{\text{Cl}}\stackrel{\times}{\times} \cdot \right]^{-}$
The calcium ion has lost its outer shell and now has a full inner shell, represented by no dots. Each chloride ion now has 8 electrons in its outer shell (7 original crosses + 1 transferred dot).

The final structure of Calcium chloride is an ionic compound formed by the electrostatic attraction between one $\text{Ca}^{2+}$ ion and two $\text{Cl}^-$ ions.

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Step-by-step solution

Identify the valence electrons for each atom.

Show the transfer of electrons from calcium to chlorine atoms.

Draw the dot and cross diagrams for the resulting ions.

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