What characteristic is shared by most simple polyatomic ions?

A) They are anions.

B) They are bonded ionically.

C) They are cations.

D) They have positive charges.

Its B ... They are bonded ionically

Answer : The correct answer is option A : They are anions.

Explanation:

Polyatomic ions are the ions that contain 2 or more different atoms that are covalently bonded to each other.

Polyatomic ions could be positively charged (Cations) or negatively charged (anions).

But if we take a look at the most commonly known polyatomic ions, we will see that almost all of them are anions.

Some examples are given below.

Nitrate : NO₃⁻

Sulfate : SO₄²⁻

Hydroxide : OH⁻

Phosphate : PO₄³⁻

Chlorate : ClO₃⁻

The only positively charged polyatomic ion that is most common is NH₄⁺ ion.

Hence we can say that, the characteristic that is shared by most simple polyatomic ions is that they are anions.