Activity 1

Formula Writing and Naming of Inorganic Compounds

Objectives:
At the end of the exercise, the students must be able to:
1. Write the formula of an inorganic compound given its name.
2. Write the name of an inorganic compound given its formula.
3. Write the formulas of inorganic compounds based on the oxidation numbers of cations and
anions.
4. Write the names and formulas of binary compounds, ternary acids, ternary bases, and ternary
salts.

As a chemistry student, it is important that you should be able to read and write names and formulas of
substances.
Compounds are substances that are represented by chemical formulas (the other substances, the
elements, are represented by chemical symbols). The formula of a substance gives the type and
number of atoms that are chemically combined in one unit of the substance. When atoms of elements
combine with each other by transferring electrons from one to the other (in general, from a metal to a
nonmetal), the substance formed is an ionic compound. The new substance is now composed not of
atoms but ions. Ions are charged particles: cations are positively charged ions; and anions are
negatively charged ions. In general metals are converted into cations and nonmetals into anions. Ionic
compounds make up the bulk of the substances you meet in general chemistry laboratory.
When a compound is formed by atoms sharing an electron pair between them, the resulting
compound is a covalent compound. Covalent compounds are named in a different manner than ionic
compounds, and they are said to exist as a collection of molecules.

Rules in Writing Formulas of Inorganic Compounds

Rule 1. The formula of an inorganic compound is seen to be a combination of ions that interact to make
the compound. The cation is written first, followed by an anion.
Rule 2. Ionic compound is electrically neutral. This means that the algebraic sum of the charges
on the cation and the anion must add up to zero.
Example 1: sodium chloride, NaCl
NaCl is composed of ions Na + and Cl-. When added, the sum of the charges in the ions is equal to
zero.
Total (+) charge = [+1 (from Na+)] Total (-) charge = [-1 (from Cl-)] = 0
Sum of the charges: (+1) + (-1) = 0
Thus, one should make sure that the total charges in an ionic compound adds up to zero. Or, the
total positive charge equals the total negative charge. To do this, we must write the correct
subscript for each atom.
Example 2: aluminum oxide, Al2O3
Al2O3: Al+3 and O-2
Make the charges equal by introducing the appropriate subscript thru the crisscross method.
Al2+3 and O3-2
Total (+) charge = (+3)(2) = +6 Total (-) charge = (-2)(3) = -6
Sum of the charges: (+6) + (-6) = 0
Crisscross method
1. The crisscross method of introducing the appropriate subscript for the ions in the compound is a
convenient method to use.
2. The crisscross method consists of using the charge of the anion as the subscript for the cation and
the charge of the cation as the subscript of the anion. In this way, the total charge becomes zero.
Example:
BaCl2: Ba+2 and Cl-1
Total charge: [(+2)(1)] + [(-1)(2)] = (+2) + (-2) = 0
Note: If there is no subscript, it is understood to be one. Or to put it in another way, if the
subscript is one, there is no need to indicate it in the formula.
Rule 3. Subscript must be reduced to the simplest ratio.

Example 1: barium sulfide

Ba+2 S-2 = Ba2S2
Note: By crisscross method the compound has the formula Ba2S2, but this ratio is equal to 1:1.
Thus, the correct formula: BaS
Example 2: plumbic sulfate
Pb+4 SO4-2
crisscross method: Pb2(SO4)4 reduced to simplest ratio/correct formula: Pb(SO4)2
Rule 4. Covalent compounds also have formulas that are more conveniently written in this manner.
Example: H2O H+ O-2 = H2O
Nomenclature of Inorganic Compounds
Rule 1. Some compounds are more familiarly called by their common names, which have no systematic
connections with the formulas. Many of their names are derived from their physical appearance,
properties, origin, or application. The only way of knowing is to memorize them. Here are some
of the examples:
H2O water NH3 ammonia
HCl muriatic acid NaOH caustic soda or lye
NaHCO3 baking soda CaCO3 limestone
Ca(OH)2 limewater
Rule 2. There is a systematic way of naming chemical substances. The systematic name tells us the
atoms which are chemically combined that make up the compound and each name is associated
with a particular formula.

Guidelines in Naming Compounds

Binary Compounds. Binary compounds are compounds that are made up of two types of atoms only.
Binary compounds may either be ionic or covalent.
Examples:
NaCl: sodium chloride (ionic) CO2: carbon dioxide (covalent)
Rules in Naming Binary Compounds
Ionic compounds: made up of metal and nonmetal
1. The name of the first element is mentioned first.
2. The name ending of the compound is –ide. This is introduced by changing the name ending of
the second element.
3. In case of metal ions that may exist in more than one oxidation state (or those which carry more than
one charge), the name of the compound may be given in either two ways.
Method 1: Old naming (use of “ous” or “ic” ending)
Example: In FeCl2, Fe exists as Fe+2: FeCl3 as Fe+3
FeCl2 ferrous chloride FeCl3 ferric chloride
Note: The metal ion of lower oxidation state gets the “ous” ending, the higher oxidation state
gets the “ic” ending.

Method 2: Use of oxidation state

Example: FeCl2 is iron (II) chloride where II indicates the oxidation state of Fe. FeCl3 is iron (III)
chloride.
Covalent compounds: made up of two nonmetals

1. The name of the first element is also mentioned first but the number of atoms, especially of the
second element, is indicated in the name by using appropriate prefixes.
Example: CO carbon monoxide CCl4 carbon tetrachloride
CO2 carbon dioxide P2O3 diphosphorus trioxide
The common prefixes are:
mono for 1 hexa for 6
di for 2 hepta for 7
tri for 3 octa for 8
tetra for 4 nona for 9
penta for 5 deca for 10
2. The name ending is still –ide.

Binary Acids. Compounds of hydrogen and a nonmetal (such as HCl, HBr, H2S, etc.) are acids when
dissolved in water. To name these compounds, use the prefix hydro, followed by the name of the
nonmetal, changing the ending with the suffix ic, then add the word acid.
Examples:
Formula Name of Compound Name as Acid
HCl hydrogen chloride hydrochloric acid
HBr hydrogen bromide hydrobromic acid
HI hydrogen iodide hydroiodic acid
HF hydrogen fluoride hydrofluoric acid
H2S hydrogen sulfide hydrosulfuric acid
Ternary Compounds. Compounds that are made up of three or more elements are referred to as
ternary compounds.
1. Ternary Acids – compounds containing hydrogen, oxygen, and a nonmetal as the central
element. They are also referred to as oxyacids.
Rules in Naming Ternary Acids/Oxyacids
1. The central atom is named first as the first word.
2. The ending is changed with the suffix “ic” for the higher number of oxygen and “ous” for the
lower number of oxygen, followed by acid as the second word.
Examples:
HClO2 chlorous acid HClO3 chloric acid
H2SO3 sulfurous acid H2SO4 sulfuric acid
3. When oxyacids have the same central atom but a different number of oxygen atoms, the
following rules are used to name these compounds.

Starting with the oxyacid whose name ends with “ic”,

a. Addition of one O atom to the “ic” acid: the acid is “per…ic acid.”
b. Removal of one O atom to the “ic” acid: the acid is “…ous acid.”
c. Removal of two O atoms to the “ic” acid: the acid is “hypo…ous acid.”
Examples:
HClO4 perchloric acid HClO3 chloric acid
HClO2 chlorous acid HClO hypochlorous acid
2. Ternary Bases – substances that yield hydroxide ions (OH-) when dissolved in water.
To name these compounds, the cation is named first followed by hydroxide as the second word.
Examples:
NaOH sodium hydroxide
KOH potassium hydroxide
Ba(OH)2 barium hydroxide
3. Ternary Salts – substances that are made up of cations other than H+, a nonmetal as the central
atom and oxygen.
 To name these compounds, the first word is the name of the cation, the second word is the name
of the nonmetal whose ending is changed to the suffix “ate” for the higher number of O atom and
‘ite” for the lower number of O atom.
Examples:
MgSO3 magnesium sulfite MgSO4 magnesium sulfate
K3PO3 potassium phosphite K3PO4 potassium phosphate

PROCEDURE
1. On your Data Sheet you will find a table. Complete the table by following the instruction given in the
Data Sheet.
2. Have them checked by your Instructor.
Table 1. List of common cations and their Table 2. List of common anions and their charges
charges (oxidation states) (oxidation states)
Oxidation Name of Chemical Oxidation Name of Anion Chemical
State Cation Symbol/Formula State Symbol/Formula
Ammonium NH4+ Acetate CH3COO – or C2H3O2 –
Cuprous Cu+ Bicarbonate HCO3 –
Hydrogen H+ Bisulfate HSO4 –
1+ Mercurous Hg22+ Bisulfite HSO3 –
Potassium K+ Bisulfide HS –
Sodium Na+ Bromate BrO3 –
Silver Ag+ Bromide Br –
Barium Ba2+ Chlorate ClO3 –
Cadmium Cd2+ Chlorite ClO2 –
Calcium Ca2+ Chloride Cl –
Chromous Cr2+ Cyanide CN –
Cobaltous Co2+ Fluoride F–
Cupric Cu2+ Dihydrogen phosphate H2PO4 –
Ferrous Fe2+ 1- Hypochlorite ClO –
2+ Plumbous Pb2+ Hypoiodite IO –
Magnesium Mg2+ Iodate IO3 –
Manganese Mn2+ Iodite IO2 –
Mercuric Hg2+ Iodide I–
Nickel Ni2+ Nitrate NO3 –
Strontium Sr2+ Nitrite NO2 –
Stannous Sn2+ Perchlorate ClO4 –
Zinc Zn2+ Periodate IO4 –
Aluminum Al3+ Permanganate MnO4 –
Antimony (III) Sb3+ Thiocyanate SCN –
Arsenic (III) As3+ Peroxide O2 2–
3+ Bismuth Bi3+ Hydride H–
Chromic Cr3+ Hydroxide OH –
Cobaltic Co3+ Biphosphate HPO4 2 –
Ferric Fe3+ Carbonate CO3 2 –
Plumbic Pb4+ Chromate CrO4 2 –
4+
Stannic Sn4+ Dichromate Cr2O7 2 –
Antimony (V) Sb5+ Oxalate C2O4 2 –
5+
Arsenic (V) As5+ 2- Oxide O2–
Silicate SiO3 2 –
Sulfate SO4 2 –
Sulfide S 2–
Sulfite SO3 2 –
Thiosulfate S2O3 2 –
Arsenite AsO3 3 –
Arsenate AsO4 3 –
Nitride N 3–
3-
Phosphate PO4 3 –
Phosphite PO3 3 –
Ferricyanide [Fe(CN)6] 3 –
4- Ferrocyanide [Fe(CN)6] 4 –