General Chemistry I

CHEMICAL FORMULA AND NOMENCLATURE

Chemical Compounds

When atoms approach other in a chemical reaction, the electrons of the atoms interact to form
chemical bonds. Compounds are substances composed of more than one element, chemically
combined.
E. g. HCl, H2O, NH3
In general, compounds can be classified into two types: Molecular and ionic.

Molecular Compounds
A molecular compound is made up of discrete units called molecules, which typically consist of
two or more of nonmetal atoms held together by covalent bonds. A covalent bond, the most
common kind of chemical bond, results when two atoms share electrons.

Even some elements exit as molecules rather than as atoms.

Hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine, sulfur and phosphorus all exist
as molecules whose atoms held together by covalent bond. Therefore, we have to write them as
H2, N2, O2, F2, Cl2, Br2, I2, S8 and P4 when using any of these elements in a chemical equation.

Chemical Formulas
A compound is represented by giving its chemical formula, a notation that uses atomic
symbols with numerical subscripts to convey the relative proportion of atoms of different
elements in the substance.

Some Common Types of Formulas

There are different ways to represent a molecule: it will have a name, it has a chemical formula
which displays the number and types of atoms that make up the molecule, and it has a
structural formula which shows how the various atoms are attached to one another.

i) An empirical formula is the simplest formula for a compound; it shows the types of atoms
present and the ratio of atoms in a compound. Compounds with different molecular formulas
can have the same empirical formulas and such substances will have the same percentage
composition.

ex. formaldehyde (CH2O), Acetic acid (C2H4O2), and glucose (C6H12O6) all have the empirical
formula. Generally, empirical formula does not tell us much about a molecule.

ii) A molecular formula is based on an actual molecule of a compound. It gives the exact
number of different atoms of an element in a molecule. In some cases, the empirical formula
and the molecular formula are identical

ex. formaldehyde CH2O. In other cases, the molecular formula is a multiple of the empirical
formula unit ex. C6H12O6 = (CH2O)6

Empirical and molecular formulas tell us the combining ratio of the atoms in the compound, but
show nothing about how the atoms are attached to each other.
There are other types of formula that will show the connectivity of atoms in a molecule.

SAMPLE PROBLEMS
Percentage Composition and Empirical & Molecular Formula

Solve the following problems. Show your work, and always include units where needed.

1. A compound is found to contain 36.5% Na, 25.4% S, and 38.1% O. Find its empirical
formula.

2. Find the empirical formula of a compound that is 53.7% iron and 46.3% sulfur.

3. Analysis of a sample of a compound indicates that is has 1.04 g K, 0.70 g Cr, and 0.86 g O.
What is its empirical formula?
4. If 4.04 g of nitrogen combine with 11.46 g of oxygen to produce a compound with a molar
mass of 108.0g, what is the molecular formula of this compound?

5. The molar mass of a compound is 92 g. Analysis of the sample indicates that it contains
0.606 g N and 1.390 g O. Find the compound’s molecular formula.

6. An acid commonly used in the automotive industry is shown to be 31.6% phosphorous, 3.1%
hydrogen, and 63.5% oxygen. Determine the empirical formula of this acid.

7. A solvent is found to be 50.0% oxygen, 37.5% carbon, and 12.5% hydrogen. What is the
empirical formula of this solvent.

8. A particular sugar is determined to have the following composition: 40.0% carbon, 6.7%
hydrogen, and 53.3% oxygen. Determine the empirical formula of this sugar molecule.
9. If the molar mass of the sugar in question #8 is 180.0 g, find the molecular formula of the
sugar.

10. Ethene, a gas used extensively in preparing plastics and other polymers, has a composition
of 85.7% carbon and 14.3% hydrogen. Its molar mass is 28 g. Find the molecular formula for
ethane.

iii) A structural formula shows the order in which atoms are bonded together in a molecule
and by what types of bonds. The covalent bonds in the structure formula are represented by
lines (). Each line represents one bond.

Lactic Acid or 2-hydroxypropanoic acid C3H6O3

iv) A condensed structural formula: a less cumbersome way of showing how the atoms are
connected
v) A line-angle formula: in which carbon atoms are implied at the corners and ends of lines,
and each carbon atom is understood to be attached to enough hydrogen atoms to give each
carbon atom four bonds

Using Models in Representing Atoms

To show three-dimensional structures of molecules is by structural models

ball-and-stick
type

space-filling
type

1) ball-and stick-model, the centers of the bonded atoms are represented by small balls, and
the bonds between atoms by sticks. Such model help us to visualize distances between the
centers of atoms (bond length) and the geometrical shapes of molecules.

2) A space-filling model shows that the atoms in a molecule occupy space and that they are
in actual contact with one another. This model is the most accurate representation of the size
and shape of a molecule because it constructed to scale.
CHEMICAL NOMENCLATURE

Binary Compounds with Elements having one valence (charge) value

Binary compounds contain two elements only.

They are usually ionic compounds
When naming compounds the least electronegative element is usually written first.

Rules for Binary Compounds

The name of the binary compound always ends in "ide".

The first mentioned element uses its name as it appears on the Periodic table
Elements have a valence value determined by their group on the Periodic table

1+ 2+ 3+ 4 +/- 3- 2- 1- 0

N.B. see the periodic table for valences of the transitions metals

Zero Sum Rule: For neutral chemical formulas containing ions, the sum of the positive and negative ions must equal zero.

Cross-over-rule for writing Formulas

1. Write down the symbols of the elements in the order given in the name
2. Write valences above elements symbol
3. Divide valences by the highest common multiple
4. Cross-over valences
5. Drop all 1's and unnecessary brackets

Examples:
sodium oxide Na2O calcium sulfide CaS magnesium bromide MgBr2

Exercise:
For all exercises you will give the name if formula provided and the formula if the name is provided.

1) calcium nitride _______ 8) silicon oxide _______

2) aluminum carbide _______ 9) aluminum bromide _______

3) silver sulphide _______ 10) zinc oxide _______

4) sodium fluoride _______ 11) potassium bromide _______

5) barium iodide _______ 12) magnesium chloride _______

6) LiCl ___________________ 13) BaO __________________

7) K2S ______________________________ 14) Al2O3 _________________________________

Binary Compounds with Elements having multiple valence values

Rules for Binary Compounds

The name of the binary compound always ends in "ide".

Whenever the first mentioned element has more than one valence value, this must be indicated in
the name. It will always be the first element. The second element has a valence value equal to the
value for its group on the periodic table.

Certain valence values of transition metals must be memorized.

On the Periodic table, above each symbol are a number of values which the legend calls
oxidation states. In many cases these also correspond to valence values.

There are three ways of naming compounds containing elements that can have multiple valences, The different methods
must not be mixed.

Method 1 - Roman numeral method (IUPAC)

The valence value to be used is indicated by using uncrossed Roman numerals

It is placed in brackets immediately following the name of the first element.

Examples:
iron(III) chloride FeCl3 tin(IV) iodide SnI4
nickle (III) sulfide Ni2S3 mercury(II) oxide HgO

Exercise:
For all exercises you will give the name if formula provided and the formula if the name is provided.

1) iron(III) chloride ________ 12) copper(II) sulphide ________

2) tin(IV) oxide ________ 13) arsenic(V) iodide ________
3) phosphorus(V) chloride ________ 14) gold(I) fluoride ________
4) copper(I) bromide ________ 15) sulphur(VI) oxide ________
5) antimony(V) sulphide________ 16) bismuth(v) phosphide________
6) arsenic(III) oxide ________ 17) mercury(II) chloride ________
7) mercury(I) sulphide ________ 18) gold(III) chloride ________
8) Pb3N2 _________________________ 19) SbF3 ____________________________
9) NiI2 _________________________ 20) MnO2 ____________________________
10) Co2Se3 _________________________ 21) BiF5 _____________________________
11) SnO2 _________________________ 22) ZnO _____________________________
Method 2 - "ous' and "ic" method

When the first written element has two valences only, the name of the element ending with "ous" denotes the lower
valence value
The name of the element ending with an "ic" denotes the higher valence values.

1. In some cases, the latin name for the element is used:

iron: ferrous (valence = 2+) and ferric (valence = 3+)

gold: aurous (valence = 1+) and auric (valence = 3+)
copper: cuprous (valence = 1+) and cupric (valence = 2+)
tin: stannous (valence = 2+) and stannic (valence = 4+)
lead: plumbous (valence = 2+) and plumbic (valence = 4+)
cobalt cobaltous (valence = 2+) and cobaltic (valence = 3+)
nickel nickelous (valence = 2+) and nickelic (valence = 3+)
mercury mercurous (valence = 1+) and mercuric (valence = 2+)
platinum platinous (valence = 2+) and platonic (valence = 4+)

2. Some elements having more than two valence values or oxidation states use specific values for the "ous" and the "ic".

nitrogen ous = 1- ic = 2- chromium ous = 2+ ic = 3+

manganese ous = 2+ ic = 3+ phosphorus ous = 3- ic = 5-
bismuth ous = 3+ ic = 5+ arsenic ous = 3+ ic = 5+

Examples:
stannous chloride SnCl2 phosphorous oxide P2O3
manganous fluoride MnF2 nitric oxide NO

Exercise:
For all exercises you will give the name if formula provided and the formula if the name is provided.

1) ferric oxide _________________

2) phosphoric sulfide _________________
3) cuprous fluoride _________________
4) stannic fluoride _________________
5) antimonous sulfide _________________
6) cupric bromide _________________
7) NiI2 _________________
8) HgBr _________________
9) CoCl3 _________________
10) As3N5 _________________
11) stannic oxide _________________
12) arsenous nitride _________________
13) nickelous fluoride _________________
14) cuprous nitride _________________
15) auric chloride _________________
16) cupric sulfide _________________
17) Pt02 _________________
18) As4C5 _________________
19) Au2S _________________
20) PbCl4 _________________
Method 3 - Greek prefix method

This method does not use the valence values.

The Greek prefix is placed in front of the element name to indicate how many atoms
of the element to place in the formula.
The word "mono" is usually omitted only if it applies to the first element.

Prefixes: mono = 1 di = 2 tri =3 tetra = 4 penta = 5

hexa = 6 hepta = 7 octa = 8 nona = 9 deca = 10

Examples: diphosphorus pentoxide P2O5 trichloride AsCl3

carbon monoxide CO xenon tetrafluoride XeF4
Exercise:
For all exercises you will give the name if formula provided and the formula if the name is provided.

1) xenon hexafluoride _________________ 12) sulfur dioxide _________________

2) sulphur trioxide _________________ 13) carbon dioxide _________________
3) carbon disulphide ________________ 14) diphosphorus trisulfide _________________
4) silicon dioxide _________________ 15) silicon tetrachloride _________________
5) lead dioxide ________________ 16) manganese dioxide _________________
6) nitrogen dioxide _________________ 17) nitrogen tetroxide _________________
7) carbon tetrachloride _________________ 18) lead dioxide _________________
8) dichlorine monoxide _________________ 19) diphosphorus pentasulphide ________________
9) KrF2 ______________________ 20) ICl ______________________
10) SeCl2 ______________________ 21) ICl7 ______________________
11) NF3 ______________________ 22) P2S5 ______________________

Formula of elements:
Most elements are written as single entities:
Metals (solids in their standard state except mercury)
Noble gases
Diatomics – H –Have N – No F – Fear O – of I – Ice Cl – Cold Br - Beer (all are gasses except Br and I)

Eg: hydrogen H2(g); oxygen O2(g) ; nitrogen N2(g); bromine Br2(l) ; iodine I2(s)

two other non-metals exceptions: sulphur S(s) & S8(s) ; phosphorus P(s) & P4(s)
Polyatomic ions (Radicals)

 Is an ion made up of two or more atoms

 Some of the following list of polyatomic ions will have to be memorized along with their valences.
 These polyatomic ions behave as if they were a single entity and follow the cross-over rule in the same manner as
other single elements.
 Brackets are used in the formula, only if it turns out that there are 2 or more of the polyatomic ion indicated in the
formula: Eg. Brackets are used in Al2(SO4)3 but not in Na3PO4
 The only polyatomic cation to be studied is NH4+
 The others are polyatomic anions. i.e. they carry a negative charge

Fill in table
radical name formula radical name formula
thiocyanate SCN- nitrate
cyanide nitrite
cyanate CNO- carbonate
hypochlorite thiosulfate
chlorite sulfate
chlorate sulfite
perchlorate phosphate
hydroxide ammonium

REMEMBER:

Nick the Camel ate a Clam for Supper in Phoenix

__________ __________ __________ __________ _________

Examples:
calcium hydroxide Ca(OH)2 iron (II) nitrite Fe(NO2)2
magnesium cyanide Mg(CN)2 ammonium hydroxide NH4OH
sodium phosphate Na3PO4 sodium hypochlorite NaClO

1) potassium hydroxide __________________ 11) iron(III) cyanate __________________

2) barium hydroxide __________________ 12) ammonium chloride __________________
3) copper(II) sulphate __________________ 13) ammonium dichromate __________________
4) ammonium bromate __________________ 14) ferrous hydroxide __________________
5) nickel(III) cyanide __________________ 15) auric bromide __________________
6) cobalt(II) cyanate __________________ 16) zinc hydroxide __________________
7) gallium dichromate __________________ 17) potassium chromate __________________
8) Sn(CN)4 ______________________ 18) Al(OH)3 ______________________
9) KMnO4 _______________________ 19) CsCN _______________________
10) Cu(NO3)2 _______________________ 20) Ca(SCN)2 _______________________
Hydrates:

Greek prefixes are used to indicate how many water molecules are associated with the crystal.
Examples: copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate CuSO4.5H2O
chlorine octahydrate Cl2.8H2O

1) calcium sulfate dihydrate __________ 10) cobalt(II) perchlorate pentahydrate__________

2) magnesium sulfite heptahydrate __________ 11) barium chloride dihydrate __________
3) sodium carbonate decahydrate _________ 12) aluminum nitrate monohydrate __________
4) aluminum oxide monohydrate__________ 13) bromine decahydrate __________
5) ferric chloride hexahydrate __________ 14) iodine tetrahydrate __________
6) calcium nitrate trihydrate __________ 15) copper(II) sulfite hexahydrate __________
7)cadmium bromide tetrahydrate__________ 16) ferrous iodide tetrahydrate __________
8) chromium(III) nitrate nonahydrate_________ 17) lithium chloride monohydrate __________
9) barium hydroxide octahydrate __________ 18) beryllium nitrate tetrahydrate __________

Peroxides:
These are binary oxides, which contain an extra oxygen atom. (O22- = peroxide radical)
Rule:
Write the formula as if the regular oxide Na2O H2O CaO
Add on one extra oxygen atom Na2O2 H2O2 CaO2
Do not at this stage cancel any of the subscripts.

1) zinc peroxide ____________________ 6) potassium peroxide ____________________

2) calcium peroxide ____________________ 7) strontium peroxide ____________________
3) cesium peroxide ____________________ 8) hydrogen peroxide ____________________
4) copper(II) peroxide ____________________ 9) barium peroxide ____________________
5) magnesium peroxide ____________________ 10) aluminum peroxide ____________________

Thio Compounds
The prefix thio in the name indicates that an oxygen atom has been replaced by a sulphur atom.
Examples: potassium sulphate K2SO4 potassium thiosulphate K2S2O3
sodium carbonate Na2CO3 sodium thiocarbonate Na2SCO2
potassium cyanate KCNO potassium thiocyanate KSCN

1) ammonium thiocyanate ___________________ 4) potassium thiosulfate ___________________

2) sodium monohydrogen thiosulphate ___________ 5) aluminum thiocarbonate __________________
3) CaS2O2 _________________________
NOMENCLATURE 4
ACIDS:
There are three groups of acids: - binary acids
- oxy acids
- derived oxy acids
Binary Acids

1. All have the prefix hydro and end with ic.

2. All must contain hydrogen as the first element.
3. Use the normal cross-over-rule to determine the formula.
4. All are dissociated in water and must be so indicated by using (aq) behind the formula.
5. Have no oxygen in their formula

Examples: hydrochloric acid HCl(aq)

hydrosulfuric acid H2S(aq)
hydrocyanic acid HCN(aq)

Exercise:
For all exercises you will give the name if formula provided and the formula if the name is provided.

hydrobromic acid ________ hydroselenic acid ________

hydroiodic acid ________ hydrophosphoric acid ________
hydrofluoric acid ________ hydrofluoric acid ________
hydrotelluric acid ________ hydrosulfuric acid ________

Oxy acids

1. All contain H, O and at least one other non-metal element

2. The name of the acid ends in ic.
3. The name of the associated radical ends in ate.
4. The valence value of the associated radical is equal to the number of acidic hydrogen atoms in
the acid.

The following six oxy acids and their associated radicals along with their valence values must be memorized:

Name of the Acid Formula of the Acid Name of the Formula of the valence value for the
associated radical associated radical associated radical
chromic acid H2CrO4 chromate CrO4 2
nitric acid HNO3 nitrate NO3 1
fluoric acid HFO3 fluorate FO3 1
carbonic acid H2CO3 carbonate CO3 2
sulfuric acid H2SO4 sulfate SO4 2
phosphoric acid H3PO4 phosphate PO4 3

NOTE:
Using the periodic table it is possible to write the names and formulas for a number of other oxy
acids using the fact that members of the same chemical family have similar chemical properties.

Elements of the same chemical family (group) follow the pattern of the oxy acid immediately above
the oxy acid that has been memorized.

Example: memorized acid = HFO3 Fluoric acid

therefore: HClO3 - Chloric acid HIO3 - iodic acid and HBrO3 - bromic acid.
Exercise: On a separate piece of paper complete the following chart for the acids listed.

Name of the acid Formula of the acid Name of the Formula of the Valence value of the
associated radical associated radical associated radical

bromic acid telluric acid dichromic acid iodic acid silicic acid
manganic acid selenic acid chromic acid cyanic acid arsenic cid
NOMENCLATURE 5
Salts

Salts are compounds which can be formed when an acid and a base neutralize each other.
Most of the compounds in the section on binary compounds could be considered to be salts fromed from a base and a
binary acid.
Salts can also be formed from a base and an oxy acid or derived oxy acid.

Examples:

sodium sulphate Na2SO4 calcium phosphate Ca3(PO4)2

aluminum carbonate Al2(CO3)3 zinc perchlorate Zn(ClO4)2
cupric nitrite Cu(NO2)2 stannous hypoiodite Sn(IO)2

Acid Radicals
The oxy acids which have more than one acidic hydrogen are able to lose the hydrogens,
one at a time.
This gives rise to radicals, with acidic hydrogens still attached
These radicals are referred to as acid radicals:

H3PO4 ___> H1+ + H2PO 42-

H2PO 42- ___> H1+ + HPO4-
H2PO 4- ___> H1+ + PO 43-

Radical Name Valence value

PO4 phosphate 3
HPO4 monohydrogen phosphate 2
H2PO4 dihydrogen phosphate 1

* Valence value = Valence of the non-acid radical - # H's still attached.

For the following give the formula and valence value of the radicals listed:
phosphite _____________ ____ monohydrogensulphate ________ ____
monohydrogenphosphite ___________ ____ suphite ________ ____
dihydrogenphosphite _____________ ____ monohydrogensulphite ________ ____
hypophosphite _____________ ____ carbonate ________ ____
monohydrogenhypophosphite________ ____ monohydrogencarbonate________ ____
dihydrogenhypophosphite _______ ____ chromate ________ ____
sulphate ________ ____ monohydrogechromate ________ ____
Acid Salts:
The acid radicals are treated just like any other radical:
Examples:
calcium dihydrogenhypophosphite Ca(H2PO2)2
potassium monohydrogen carbonate KHCO3
Aluminum hydrogensulphite Al(HSO3)3 Note: mono is understood

Note: In some old texts, the prefix "bi" is sometimes used instead of monohydrogen. Its use is very selective and should
not be considered to name compounds, but know how to write the formulas when the prefix "bi" is used.
Examples: sodium bicarbonate NaHCO3 potassium bisulphite KHSO3

sodium monohydrogenphosphate ___________ ferric monohydrogensulphate ____________

magnesium dihydrogenphosphat
aluminum dihydrogenphosphite
chromium(III) hydrogenphosphite
cupric monohydrogenarsenate
stannic dihydrogenhypophosphite
___________ ammonium hydrogencarbonate ____________
___________ chromium(III) hydrogensulphite ____________
___________ nickel(II) monohydrogensilicate ____________
___________ cadmium monohydrogenselenate ____________
___________ potassium monohydrogenselenite ____________

K2HPO3 _________________________ Bi2(HPO3)5 _________________________

Ba(HSO3)2 _________________________ Pb(H 2PO2)2 ________________________
 NOMENCLATURE 6
Derived Oxy acid and Salts worksheet

Exercise:
Complete the following table for the acids listed on a separate piece of paper.
phosphorous acid bromic acid iodous acid
hypophosphorous acid bromous acid hypoiodous acid
phosphoric acid hypobromous acid selenic acid
sulfuric acid periodic acid selenous acid
sulfurous acid iodic acid telluric acid
nitric acid perbromicacid tellurous acid

Name of the acid Formula of the acid Name of the Formula of the Valence value of the
associated radical associated radical associated radical

(A) salts from oxy acids

potassium chlorate ____________________ sodium carbonate __________________
sodium nitrate ____________________ ferric sulfate __________________
iron(III) acetate ____________________ gold(I) phosphate __________________
aluminum silicate ____________________ magnesium chlorate _________________
magnesium phosphate ____________________ ammonium nitrate __________________
aurous sulfate ____________________ K2CO3 ______________________
ammonium chlorate ____________________ Na3PO4 _____________________
zinc nitrate ____________________ Fe(ClO3)2 ______________________
potassium acetate ____________________ Al(C2H3O2)3 ______________________
lithium chromate ____________________ Zn3(PO4)2 ______________________
(B) Salts from derived oxy acids
sodium perchlorate __________________ magnesium phosphite __________________
aluminum sulfite _________________ copper(I) permanganate __________________
cobalt(III) chlorite __________________ ammonium hypophosphite__________________
tin(IV) hypochlorite __________________ mercuric perchlorate __________________
sodium phosphite __________________ magnesium sulfite __________________
aluminum nitrite __________________ cuprous chlorite __________________
cobalt(II) hypophosphite__________________ ammonium hypoiodite __________________
stannic perchlorate __________________ gold(III) chromate __________________
sodium sulphite __________________ Ga(BrO4)3 _______________________
aluminum chlorite __________________ Pt(ClO)4 _______________________
nickel(III) hypochlorite __________________ Ag2O _______________________
tin(IV) phosphite __________________ NH4CNO ______________________

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