Element Symbols & Names Cations

H hydrogen H+ hydrogen ion

Li lithium Li+ lithium ion
Na sodium (natrium) Na+ sodium ion
K potassium (kalium) K+ potassium ion
Rb rubidium Rb+ rubidium ion
Cs cesium Cs+ cesium ion
Be beryllium Be2+ beryllium ion
Mg magnesium Mg2+ magnesium ion
Ca calcium Ca2+ calcium ion
Sr strontium Sr2+ strontium ion
Ba barium Ba2+ barium ion
Al aluminum Al3+ aluminum ion

Ag silver (argentum) Ag+ silver ion

Zn zinc Zn2+ zinc ion
Cd cadmium Cd2+ cadmium ion
Sc scandium Sc3+ scandium ion
Ga gallium Ga3+ gallium ion

Stock System Latin System

Ti titanium Ti3+ titanium(III) ion titanous ion
Ti4+ titanium(IV) ion titanic ion
V vanadium V3+ vanadium(III) ion vanadous ion
V5+ vanadium(V) ion vanadic ion
Cr chromium Cr2+ chromium(II) ion chromous ion
Cr3+ chromium(III) ion chromic ion
Mn manganese Mn2+ manganese(II) ion manganous ion
Mn3+ manganese(III) ion manganic ion
Fe iron (ferrum) Fe2+ iron(II) ion ferrous ion
Fe3+ iron(III) ion ferric ion
Co cobalt Co2+ cobalt(II) ion cobaltous ion
Co3+ cobalt(III) ion cobaltic ion
Ni nickel Ni2+ nickel(II) ion nickelous ion
Ni3+ nickel(III) ion nickelic ion
Cu copper (cuprum) Cu+ copper(I) ion cuprous ion
Cu2+ copper(II) ion cupric ion
Au gold (aurum) Au+ gold(I) ion aurous ion
Au3+ gold(III) ion auric ion
Hg mercury (hydrargyrum) Hg22+ mercury(I) ion mercurous ion
Hg2+ mercury(II) ion mercuric ion
Sn tin (stannum) Sn2+ tin(II) ion stannous ion
Sn4+ tin(IV) ion stannic ion
Pb lead (plumbum) Pb2+ lead(II) ion plumbous ion
Pb4+ lead(IV) ion plumbic ion
Sb antimony (stibium) Sb3+ antimony(III) ion antimonous ion
Sb5+ antimony(V) ion antimonic ion
Bi bismuth Bi3+ bismuth(III) ion bismuthous ion
Bi5+ bismuth(V) ion bismuthic ion

NH4+ ammonium ion

Element Symbols & Names Anions Acids
H hydrogen Hˉ hydride ion
F fluorine Fˉ fluoride ion HF(aq) hydrofluoric acid
Cl chlorine Clˉ chloride ion HCl(aq) hydrochloric acid
Br bromine Br ˉ bromide ion HBr(aq) hydrobromic acid
I iodine Iˉ iodide ion HI(aq) hydroiodic acid
O oxygen O2- oxide ion
S sulfur S2- sulfide ion H2S(aq) hydrosulfuric acid
N nitrogen N3- nitride ion
P phosphorus P3- phosphide ion

Polyatomic Anions

CN ˉ cyanide ion HCN(aq) hydrocyanic acid

OH ˉ hydroxide ion
O22- peroxide ion

NO2ˉ nitrite ion HNO2(aq) nitrous acid

NO3ˉ nitrate ion HNO3(aq) nitric acid

CO32- carbonate ion HCO3ˉ hydrogen carbonate ion H2CO3(aq) carbonic acid

SO32- sulfite ion HSO3ˉ hydrogen sulfite ion H2SO3(aq) sulfurous acid
SO42- sulfate ion HSO4ˉ hydrogen sulfate ion H2SO4(aq) sulfuric acid

PO33- phosphite ion HPO32- hydrogen phosphite ion

H2PO3ˉ dihydrogen phosphite ion H3PO3(aq) phosphorous acid
PO43- phosphate ion HPO42- hydrogen phosphate ion
H2PO4ˉ dihydrogen phosphate ion H3PO4(aq) phosphoric acid

ClOˉ hypochlorite ion HClO(aq) hypochlorous acid

ClO2ˉ chlorite ion HClO2(aq) chlorous acid
ClO3ˉ chlorate ion HClO3(aq) chloric acid
ClO4ˉ perchlorate ion HClO4(aq) perchloric acid

BrOˉ hypobromite ion HBrO(aq) hypobromous acid

BrO2ˉ bromite ion HBrO2(aq) bromous acid
BrO3ˉ bromate ion HBrO3(aq) bromic acid
BrO4ˉ perbromate ion HBrO4(aq) perbromic acid

IOˉ hypoiodite ion HIO(aq) hypoiodous acid

IO2ˉ iodite ion HIO2(aq) iodous acid
IO3ˉ iodate ion HIO3(aq) iodic acid
IO4ˉ periodate ion HIO4(aq) periodic acid

MnO4ˉ permanganate ion HMnO4(aq) permanganic acid

CrO42- chromate ion H2CrO4(aq) chromic acid

Cr2O72- dichromate ion H2Cr2O7(aq) dichromic acid

HCO2ˉ formate ion HCO2H(aq) formic acid

C2H3O2ˉ acetate ion HC2H3O2(aq) acetic acid
 Prefixes for
Molecular Compounds & Hydrates

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

Prefixes for
Organic Compounds Alkanes Alkenes Alkynes

1 meth CH4 methane

2 eth C2H6 ethane C2H4 ethene C2H2 ethyne
3 prop C3H8 propane C3H6 propene C3H4 propyne
4 but C4H10 butane C4H8 butene C4H6 butyne
5 pent C5H12 pentane C5H10 pentene C5H8 pentyne
6 hex C6H14 hexane C6H12 hexene C6H10 hexyne
7 hept C7H16 heptane C7H14 heptene C7H12 heptyne
8 oct C8H18 octane C8H16 octene C8H14 octyne
9 non C9H20 nonane C9H18 nonene C9H16 nonyne
10 dec C10H22 decane C10H20 decene C10H18 decyne

Alcohols Amines Carboxylic Acids

CH3OH methanol CH3NH2 methylamine HCO2H methanoic acid

C2H5OH ethanol C2H5NH2 ethylamine CH3CO2H ethanoic acid
C3H7OH propanol C3H7NH2 propylamine C2H5CO2H propanoic acid
C4H9OH butanol C4H9NH2 butylamine C3H7CO2H butanoic acid
C5H11OH pentanol C5H11NH2 pentylamine C4H9CO2H pentanoic acid
C6H13OH hexanol C6H13NH2 hexylamine C5H11CO2H hexanoic acid
C7H15OH heptanol C7H15NH2 heptylamine C6H13CO2H heptanoic acid
C8H17OH octanol C8H17NH2 octylamine C7H15CO2H octanoic acid
C9H19OH nonanol C9H19NH2 nonylamine C8H17CO2H nonanoic acid
C10H21OH decanol C10H21NH2 decylamine C9H19CO2H decanoic acid
Nomenclature Hints

Names and symbols of chemical elements are the vocabulary for the language of chemistry. Element
names and their symbols don’t usually follow scientific systematics but rather the inspiration or
suggestion of the discoverer. They must be spelled correctly. The symbols consist of one or two letters
with the first always capitalized and the second, if applicable, never capitalized. For example, “Ne” is
the only correct spelling for the element symbol of the noble gas neon (“ne”, “NE”, or “nE” are wrong).
The importance of element symbols being case sensitive becomes obvious when looking at the element
symbol for cobalt (Co). The fully capitalized version CO would not refer to cobalt but to the molecular
compound carbon monoxide, a combination of the two elements carbon (C) and oxygen (O).
Naming ionic compounds follows different rules than naming covalent compounds. Because of these
different sets of rules, you must always decide first whether a compound is ionic or covalent. Ionic and
covalent compounds can generally be distinguished between by identifying the type of elements
contained in the compound. Generally ionic compounds contain at least one metal and one nonmetal,
while covalent compounds usually contain only nonmetals. One major exception for ionic compounds
occurs with the ammonium ion (NH4+). This nonmetal cation acts like a metal ion forming ionic
compounds.

Ionic Compounds
Ionic compounds are composed of cations and anions. When naming an ionic compound first
identify the cation and the anion. Metal cations are named directly after the element while anions have
an –ide ending. Both types of ions are combined with the word “ion” to distinguish them from
uncharged atoms or molecules (sodium ion is the cation of sodium, chloride ion is the anion of chlorine)
The name of the compound is then formed by combining the name of the cation with the name of the
anion while leaving the word “ion” off of both. Note that the cation always comes first in the ionic
compound name and the anion name is second. For example, an oxide ion (anion of oxygen) combines
with a magnesium ion (cation of magnesium) forming the ionic compound magnesium oxide.
When writing the chemical formula of an ionic compound you need to determine the number of
cations and anions required to form a neutral compound. For example, if the cation carries a 2+ charge
and the anion a 2- charge, one of each is needed to make a neutral compound. If, however, the cation
carries a 1+ charge and the anion a 2- charge, two cations and one anion are needed to form a neutral
compound. Note that the subscripts in an ionic compound reflect the ratio necessary to make a neutral
compound, but they should correspond to the lowest whole-number ratio possible to make a neutral
compound. You should be cautious when working with polyatomic ions (for example: sulfate ion, SO42-
).When you need more than one polyatomic ion to form a neutral compound, you must place the
polyatomic ion in parentheses and place the subscript outside the parentheses, such as in aluminum
sulfate, Al2(SO4)3, or ammonium phosphate, (NH4)3PO4.
Ions with varying charges can be named by the Stock system or the Latin system. Several metal ions
can have more than one possible charge. When naming these metal ions the charge must be specified in
the name of the ion. This can be done by using either the Stock system or the Latin system of naming.
The Stock system explicitly indicates the charge on the ion using Roman numerals in parentheses after
the name of the metal. For example, Cu+ and Cu2+ are named copper(I) ion and copper(II) ion,
respectively. The Latin system uses -ous and -ic endings in combination with the Latin element name.
For example, Cu+ and Cu2+ are named cuprous ion and cupric ion, respectively. When naming ionic
compounds, the Stock system and Latin system can be used interchangeably for the cation present.
 Some ionic compounds have a specific number of water molecules associated with each formula
unit; these compounds are referred to as hydrates. The associated water molecules in a hydrate are called
waters of hydration. A hydrate is named by specifying both the ionic compound and the number of water
molecules attached. The ionic portion is named as any ionic compound, which comes directly from the
names of the constituent ions. The name of the ionic compound is followed by the word hydrate,
referring to the attached water molecules, with a prefix corresponding to the number of water molecules
per formula unit (mono-, di-, tri-, tetra-, penta-, etc.).

Covalent Compounds
Covalent compounds are composed of nonmetals. Unlike ionic compounds, covalent compounds do
not combine in specific ratios dependent on their ionic charge. On the contrary, nonmetals can form
different compounds with different ratios that do not reflect an ionic charge. Because of the varying
ratios, the number of each component must be explicitly identified in the name for the compound. This
is done by using Greek prefixes (mono-, di-, tri-, tetra-, penta-, etc.) Accordingly, the covalent
compound N2O4 is named dinitrogen tetroxide. One exception to the use of Greek prefixes for naming
covalent compounds is the use of the prefix mono-, which is never used for the first element (for
example: CO2 is named carbon dioxide but not monocarbon dioxide).

Acids
Acids are molecular compounds able to release hydrogen ions (H+) in aqueous solution. To name an
acid you must first identify the anion that results when the hydrogen ion is released. If the anion ends in
-ide, then the –ide is replaced with -ic and hydro- is added as a prefix. If the anion ends in -ate, then the -
ate is replaced with -ic and no prefix is added. If the anion ends in -ite, then the -ite is replaced with -ous
and no prefix is added. Finally, no matter the anion, the word acid is always added to the end.
Identification of the relationship between the prefixes and suffixes used in naming acids and anions
can also be used to determine the chemical formula of an acid. Once you know the anion contained in
the acid you can determine the chemical formula of the acid. It is similar to determining the chemical
formula of an ionic compound. For an acid you combine the anion with a sufficient number of hydrogen
ions to result in a neutral compound.

Organic Compounds
Organic compounds are named based on the longest carbon chain and any functional groups
attached. Prefixes are used to identify the number of carbons in the longest carbon chain (meth-, eth-,
prop-, but-, pent-, hex-, etc.). The most basic organic compounds are hydrocarbons, which contain only
carbon and hydrogen. Hydrocarbons can be classified as alkanes, alkenes, or alkynes. An alkane has
only carbon-carbon single bonds and is named using the suffix -ane. Alkenes have at least one carbon-
carbon double bond and are named using the suffix -ene. Alkynes contain at least one carbon-carbon
triple bond and are named using the suffix -yne. In organic compounds, every carbon atomforms four
bonds, thus the general formula for alkanes is CnH2n+2. For an alkene with only one carbon-carbon
double bond, the general formula is CnH2n. The general formula of an alkyne with only one carbon-
carbon triple bond is CnH2n-2.
 In addition to hydrogen and carbon, many organic compounds have atoms of other elements
attached, such as oxygen, nitrogen, and halogens. Organic compounds that contain elements in addition
to carbon and hydrogen are referred to as functionalized hydrocarbons. Functionalized hydrocarbons are
named based on both the longest carbon chain and the functional group attached. A hydrocarbon with an
-OH group attached is called an alcohol. Alcohols are named using the alkane name with an -ol ending,
alkanol; for example, a three carbon chain with an -OH group is named propanol. A hydrocarbon with a
-CO2H group attached is called a carboxylic acid. Carboxylic acids are named using the alkane name
with an -oic acid ending, alkanoic acid; for example, a four carbon chain with a -CO2H group (which
results in a five carbon chain) is named pentanoic acid. A hydrocarbon with an -NH2 group attached is
called an amine. Amines are named using the prefix for the number of carbons and a -ylamine ending,
alkylamine; for example, an eight carbon chain with an -NH2 group is named octylamine.
An easy method of determining the chemical formula of an organic compound is to draw out the
structural formula and count the atoms. In a structural formula all of the atoms are shown and connected
with one line (single bonds), two lines (double bonds), or three lines (triple bonds). When drawing
structural formulas of organic compounds it is important to note that carbon always forms four bonds,
nitrogen always forms three bonds, and oxygen always forms two bonds.

Nomenclature Videos

Ionic Compound Basics Metal Ions Polyatomic Ions

Naming Ionic Compounds Covalent Compound Basics

Organic Compounds Acids & Hydrates