NOMENCLATURE

A large number of inorganic compounds are known today. These compounds are divided
into four categories: ionic compounds; molecular compounds; acids, bases and salts; and
hydrates.

Over the years, chemists have devised clear, systematic ways of naming chemical
substances. The rules are accepted worldwide, facilitating communication among chemists and
providing a useful way of labeling an overwhelming variety of substances.

Objectives: At the end of the activity, you should be able to:

1. identify the cation and anion of the given formula.

1. name and write the formula of a compound
2. classify inorganic compounds into binary or ternary, ionic or molecular, acids,
bases, or salts and hydrates.

A. Naming of Compounds

1. Ionic compounds are made up of cations (positive ions) and anions (negative ions). With the
important exception of the ammonium ion, NH4+, cations are derived from metal ions. Metal
cations take their name from the elements. For example,

Element Name of Cation

+
Na sodium Na sodium ion (or sodium cation)
Mg magnesium Mg2+ magnesium ion (or magnesium cation)
Al aluminum Al3+ aluminum ion (or aluminum cation)

Anions on the other hand, are mostly derived from nonmetals. For naming anions, use the
name of the nonmetal, however change the ending to ide.

For example:

Element Name of the Anion

Br bromine Br- bromide
2-
O oxygen O oxide
N nitrogen N3- nitride

a. Binary compounds are compounds formed from just two elements. For binary
compounds the first element we write is the metal cation followed by the
nonmetallic anion. Thus, NaCl is named as sodium chloride.
 For transition metals, which can form more than one type of cation, it is necessary
to distinguish one from the other. Two systems are used to differentiate these cations:

i. Classical System. This system assigns the ending “–ous” to the cation
with the lowest positive charge, and the ending “–ic” to the cation with the
highest positive charge.

Fe2+ ferrous ion Fe3+ ferric ion

The names of the compounds that these ions form with chlorine
would be:

FeCl2 ferrous chloride FeCl3 ferric chloride

ii. Stock system. This system differentiates the cations by writing the charge
of the cation in parenthesis using Roman Numerals right after the name of
the metal. For example, manganese (Mn) atom can assume several
different positive charges:

Mn2+: MnO Manganese (II) oxide

Mn3+: Mn2O3 Manganese (III) oxide
Mn4+: MnO2 Manganese (IV) oxide
Fe2+ : FeCl2 Iron (II) chloride
Fe3+ : FeCl3 Iron (III) chloride

 In keeping with modern practice, the use of the stock system in

naming inorganic compound is favored.

b. Ternary compounds are compounds consisting of more than two elements. Most
ternary compounds are made up of a cation and a polyatomic anion (anion that is
made up of several atoms). Some polyatomic ions have specific names which must
be memorized so that they can be recognized on sight. The “–ide” ending is also
used for certain polyatomic anion, such as hydroxide (OH -) and cyanide (CN-).
Thus, the compounds LiOH and KCN are named as lithium hydroxide and
potassium cyanide, respectively. Another example of ternary ionic compound is
ammonium chloride (NH4Cl). In this case, the cation (NH4+) is made up of two
different elements.

1. Molecular compounds contain discrete molecular units. Many inorganic molecular

compounds are binary compounds made up of only two elements. Naming binary
molecular compounds is similar to naming binary ionic compounds. Most binary
compounds contain the atoms of two non-metals bonded together by covalent bonds.
The elements in the compound are named and written in the following order:

B Si C P N H S I Br Cl O F
 The name of the element whose symbol appears first is written in full followed by the
root of the name of the second element joined to the suffix –ide. Greek or Latin numerical
prefixes are attached at the beginning of the name of each element to indicate the number of
atoms of that element in the molecule.

Prefix Meaning Prefix Meaning

mono- 1 hexa- 6
di- 2 hepta- 7
tri- 3 octa- 8
tetra- 4 nona- 9
penta- 5 deca- 10

Examples: CO Carbon monoxide CO2 Carbon dioxide

NO2 Nitrogen dioxide N2O3 Dinitrogen trioxide
CCl4 Carbon tetrachloride SO2 Sulfur dioxide
Cl2O7 Dichlorine heptoxide SO3 Sulfur trioxide

The following guidelines are helpful when you name compounds with prefixes:

(a) The prefix “mono-” may be omitted for the first element. For example, SO 2 is
named sulfur dioxide, rather than monosulfur dioxide. The absence of a prefix for
the first element usually implies that there is one atom of that element present the
molecule.
(b) For oxides, the ending “a” in the prefix is sometimes omitted. For examples, N 2O4
may be called dinitrogen tetroxide, rather than dinitrogen tetraoxide. An exception
to the use of Greek prefixes involves molecular compounds containing hydrogen.

B2H6 = diborane CH4 = methane SiH4 = silane

1. Acids, Bases, and Salts

1. Acids are substances that yield hydrogen ion, H+, when dissolved in water. The
names of the acids are based on the ions produced.

The rules in naming acids in the aqueous solution are as follows:

(1) If the anion name ends in –ide, the prefix hydro- is attached to the root of the
anion name followed by the ending –ic acid.

(2) Some acids are derived from ternary salts with oxyanions. Oxyanions are binary
ions in which one element is oxygen. If the name of the oxyanion ends in –ate, the
 name of the acid is the root name of the anion with the suffix –ic and is followed
by the word acid.

(3) If the name of the oxyanion ends in –ite, the suffix –ous acid is attached to the
root name of the ion.

Examples:

Anion Formula Anion Name Acid Formula Name of Acid

Cl1- Chloride ion HCl Hydrochloric acid

SO32- Sulfite ion H2SO3 Sulfurous acid
SO42- Sulfate ion H2SO4 Sulfuric acid

In its pure state, the acid is named by using the word hydrogen followed by the
name of the anion.

Examples:
H2S Hydrogen sulfide H2SO4 Hydrogen sulfate

2. A base can be described as a substance that yields hydroxide ions (OH-) when
dissolved in water. Some examples are:

NaOH Sodium hydroxide KOH Potassium hydroxide

Ba(OH)2 Barium hydroxide Al(OH)3 Aluminum hydroxide

Ammonia, NH3, a molecular compound in the gaseous or pure liquid state, is also
classified as a common base. When ammonia dissolves in water, NH 3 reacts
partially with H2O, to yield NH4+ and OH- ions. Thus, it is properly classified as a
base.
3. Salts are formed when acids react with bases. These compounds are named by
indicating the name of the metal ion followed by the name of the anion.

Example:
NaCl Sodium chloride BaSO4 Barium sulfate
CaCO3 Calcium carbonate AgNO3 Silver nitrate

2. Hydrates are compounds that have a specific number of water molecules attached to
them. For example, in its normal state, each unit of Copper (II) sulfate has five water
molecules associated with it. The systematic name of this compound is Copper (II)
sulfate pentahydrate, and its formula is written as CuSO 4·5H2O. The water molecules
can be driven off by heating. When this occurs, the resulting compound is CuSO 4,
which is sometimes called anhydrous Copper (II) sulfate, where “anhydrous” means
that the compound no longer has water molecule associated with it.
Some compounds are better known by their common names rather than by their systematic
chemical names.
Formula Common Name Chemical Name
H2O Water Dihydrogen oxide
NH3 Ammonia Trihydrogen nitride
CO2 Dry ice Solid carbon dioxide
NaCl Table salt Sodium chloride
N2O Laughing gas Dinitrogen oxide (nitrous oxide)
CaCO3 Marble, chalk, limestone Calcium carbonate
CaO Quicklime Calcium oxide
Ca(OH)2 Slaked lime Calcium hydroxide
Sodium hydrogen carbonate/
NaHCO3 Baking soda
Sodium bicarbonate
Na2CO3 · 10H2O Washing soda Sodium carbonate decahydrate
MgSO4· 7H2O Epsom salt Magnesium sulfate heptahydrate
Mg(OH)2 Milk of Magnesia Magnesium hydroxide

B. Writing Formulas

The writing of formulas requires knowledge of the symbols of elements and their
oxidation number/s or the charges on the ions the element forms. A correctly written formula
must always show that the algebraic sum of the total oxidation numbers is equal to zero. Below
are some elements (except ammonium, NH4+) and their common oxidation numbers.

H +1 Mg +2 Al +3 F -1 S -2
Li +1 Ca +2 Cu +1 & +2 Cl -1 N -3
Na +1 Ba +2 Hg +1 & +2 Br -1
K +1 Zn +2 Fe +2 & +3 I -1
NH4 +1 Cd +2 Sn +2 & +4 O -2

Some common polyatomic ions and their names.

Name Formula Name Formula Name Formula

Acetate CH3COO – Carbonate CO3 -2 Permanganat MnO4 –
e
– –2
Perchlorate ClO4 Chromate CrO4 Phosphate PO4 –3
– –2
Chlorate ClO3 Dichromate Cr2O7 Silicate SiO3 –2
– –
Chlorite ClO2 Hydroxide OH Peroxide O2 –2
Hypochlorite ClO – Nitrate NO3 – Oxalate C2O4 –2
In writing formulas, the symbol of the cation (+) ion is written first, then followed by the
symbol of the anion (-). The oxidation number of the cation is written as subscript of the anion.
In the same manner, the oxidation number of the anion is written as subscript of the cation. The
subscripts seen in chemical formulas indicate the number of atoms of each element in the
formula.
Example: For the compound, aluminum oxide

Aluminum ion has +3 charge and Oxygen has a –2 charge.

+3 -2 +3(2) -2(3) +6 -6 = 0
Al O Al O Al2O3

It can now be clearly seen for the algebraic sum to be equal to zero, the correct
formula for the aluminum oxide is Al2O3. When the ions have the same oxidation
numbers they unite in a one is to one ratio. For the polyatomic ions use parenthesis
whenever necessary such as:

+1 +2 +1(2) +2(1) +2 +2 = 0
NH4 SO3 NH4 SO3 NH4 SO3 (NH4)2SO3