Science 102

General and Inorganic Chemistry

MODULE 6. Chemical Formula and Nomenclature

01 LESSON

Ionic Compounds

OBJECTIVES

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

 derive names for ionic compounds using a systematic approach
 write chemical formulas of ionic compounds

LESSON PROPER

This module describes an approach that is used to name and write the chemical formula of simple ionic and molecular
compounds.

Inorganic compounds
 substance that does not contain both carbon and hydrogen

In contrast, only a handful of inorganic compounds contain carbon atoms which include carbon dioxide (CO2).

Chemical nomenclature
 a set of rules to generate systematic names for chemical compounds

Chemical formulas
 shorthand for compounds made from the symbols of their constituent elements arranged in a pattern that
shows the ratios of atoms

In writing the chemical formula of a compound, we need term that will describe the combining capacity of an element
and also indicate the positive and negative nature of the atoms in the compound. Such term is called an oxidation
number or oxidation state. The oxidation number of an element is a positive or negative integer that is related to the
electronic structure of the atom to keep track of the no. of valence electrons lost or gained.

Monoatomic ions
 ions formed from only one atom
 the oxidation no. is the same as the charge

Polyatomic ions
 ions, which act as discrete units, are electrically charged molecules (group of bonded atoms with an overall
charge)
 the charge of the ion differs from the oxidation no. of the elements that make up the polyatomic ion

CHEMICAL NOMENCLATURE of IONIC COMPOUNDS

A. Binary Ionic Compounds

 containing only two elements (monoatomic ions)

Compounds Containing a Metal Ion of Only One Charge

Guidelines
 The cation (name of the metal) is always listed before the anion (nonmetallic element)
 The unchanged English name of the metal is used.
 The name of the anion includes only the English root plus –ide.

e.g.: KBr  potassium bromide

AlI3  aluminum iodide

Chemical Formula and Nomenclature

 Science 102
General and Inorganic Chemistry
Table 1. Common Roots for Naming Compounds

Element Root Element Root Element Root

As arsen – Cr chrom – N nitr –

Br brom – F fluor – O ox –
C carb – H hydr – P phosph –
Cl chlor – I iod – S sulf –

Your turn!
a. MgCl2
b. ZnO

Compounds Containing a Metal Ion with a Variable Charge

1. Stock Method

The charge on the metal ion follows the name of the metal in Roman numerals and in parenthesis.

e.g.: SnCl4  tin (IV) chloride

SnCl2  tin (II) chloride

2. Classical Method

The name of the metal ion that has the lower charge ends in –ous and that with the higher charge
ends in –ic. If the symbol of the element is derived from a Latin word, the Latin root is generally
used rather than the English root.

e.g.: SnCl4  stannic chloride

SnCl2  stannous chloride

Table 2. Some metallic ions with variable oxidation numbers named according to stock of old system.

Cation Oxidation Stock System Classical Cation Oxidation Stock System Classical
Number System Number System
Sn +2 tin (II) stannous Cr +2 chromium (II) chromous
+4 tin (IV) stannic +3 chromium (III) chromic
Hg +1 mercury (I) mercurous Mn +2 manganese (II) manganous
+2 mercury (II) mercuric +3 manganese (III) manganic
Cu +1 copper (I) cuprous Co +2 cobalt (II) cobaltous
+2 copper (II) cupric +3 cobalt (III) cobaltic
Fe +2 iron (II) ferrous Au +1 gold (I) aurous
+3 iron (III) ferric +3 gold (III) auric
As +3 arsenic (III) arsenous Ni +2 nickel (II) nickelous
+5 arsenic (V) arsenic +3 nickel (III) nickelic
Sb +3 antimony (III) antimonous Pt +2 platinum (II) platinous
+5 antimony (V) antimonic +4 platinum (IV) platinic
Pb +2 lead (II) plumbous Sn +2 tin (II) stannous
+4 lead (IV) plumbic +4 tin (IV) stannic

Your turn!
Name the following showing both the classical and stock method.
a. NiCl3
b. CuO

B. Compounds Containing Polyatomic Ions

When the formula contains more than one of a group of atoms that occurs as an ionic unit, a parenthesis is
placed around the group, and the number of units of the group is indicated by a subscript placed after the
parenthesis.

Chemical Formula and Nomenclature

 Science 102
General and Inorganic Chemistry
Name consist of the cation name followed by the anion name.

e.g.: NaNO3  sodium nitrate

Mg(NO3)2  magnesium nitrate

C. Ionic Hydrates

Hydrates
 ionic compounds that have water molecules incorporated into their solid structures
 have properties different from anhydrous substances (meaning “not hydrated”), which are water-
free substances

The name for an ionic hydrate is derived by adding a term to the name for the anhydrous compound that
indicates the number of water molecules associated with each formula unit of the compound. The added word
begins with a Greek prefix denoting the number of water molecules and ends with “hydrate.”

e.g.: CuSO4  5H2O  copper (II) sulfate pentahydrate

Al(NO3)3  9H2O  aluminium nitrate nonahydrate

Table 3. Nomenclature Prefixes

Number Prefix Number Prefix

1 (sometimes omitted) mono – 6 hexa –

2 di – 7 hepta –
3 tri – 8 octa –
4 tetra – 9 nona –
5 penta – 10 deca –

Your turn!
Name the following ionic hydrates. Show both the classical and stock method of naming if necessary.
a. Ca(ClO)2  3H2O
b. NiSO4  6H2O

WRITING CHEMICAL FORMULAS of IONIC COMPOUNDS

Find the chemical symbol as well as the charges (or oxidation nos.) of the ions involved in a given ionic compound.

For monoatomic ion

 metal ion (or cation) of only one charge
- groups 1A (+1), 2A (+2), and 3A (+3)
- transition metals: Ag (+1), Zn and Cd (+2)
 metal ion (or cation) with a variable charge
- refer to Table 2 or to your periodic table
 anions
- groups 7A (-1), 6A (-2), and 5A (-3)
 hydrogen, H
- H+ (when bonded with nonmetal), H- (hydride; when bonded with metal)

For polyatomic ions

 refer to the list in your periodic table

Guidelines in writing formulas of ionic compounds

 The cation (name of the metal) is always listed before the anion (nonmetallic element)
 By cross-over rule (criss-cross), use the absolute value of the charges (oxidation nos.) of the anion as the
subscript for the cation and the absolute value of the cation charge as the subscript for the anion.

Chemical Formula and Nomenclature

 Science 102
General and Inorganic Chemistry

Your turn!
a. sodium fluoride
b. magnesium nitride
c. tin (IV) fluoride
d. mercuric oxide

In the case of polyatomic ions, enclose in parenthesis the ionic formula when the subscript is greater than one (1):

e.g.: Ca2+ and PO4-3  Ca3(PO4)2

Na+1 and NO3-1  NaNO3

Your turn!
a. potassium acetate
b. sodium bicarbonate

Guidelines for writing formula of the waters of hydration in ionic hydrates

 To indicate the presence of discrete water molecules or the waters of hydration, it is separated by a dot ().
 A coefficient before H2O indicates the number of water molecules.

Your turn!
a. calcium sulfate dihydrate
b. cupric sulfate heptahydrate

REFERENCES

Bayquen, A. V. & Peña, G. T. (2016). Exploring Life through Science Series: General Chemistry I. Quezon City:
Phoenix Publishing House, Inc.

Berroya, A. M., Bolayo, Y. D., Bolinget, E. G., Cadawan, P. C., Ely, L. F., Olea, C. B., Pladio, L. P., Sagalla, L. D.
(2010). Chemistry 11 Lecture Notes. Chemistry Department, CAS, Benguet State University

Brown, T., Bursten, B., LeMay, H. E., Murphy, C. & Patrick, W. (2009). Chemistry – The Central Science. Singapore:
Pearson Education South Asia PTE

Paderna-Gayon, E. S., Ilao, L. V., & Lontoc, B. M. (2016). General Chemistry 1. Quezon City: Rex Publishing

Paderna-Gayon, E. S., Ilao, L. V., & Lontoc, B. M. (2016). General Chemistry 1 (Teacher’s Resource Material).
Quezon City: Rex Publishing

Chemical Formula and Nomenclature