Answer:
i'm assuming you meant to say nonmetal atoms... in an ionic bond, electrons from the metal are transferred to the nonmetal. The reason why different numbers of metal and nonmetal atoms can combine is so their charges cancel out. take CaCl2 for example. There are two chlorine atoms for every calcium atom. If it was just CaCl, the charges wouldn't cancel out since calcium has a charge of 2+ and chlorine has a charge of 1-. Therefore to balance the compound, you need two chlorines.
