Nomenclature

Ionic Compounds

Binary Ionic Compounds – Monovalent Elements

• Binary ionic compounds are made up of a metal and a non-metal, where the elements only have
one charge.

• How to name:
- Write the name of the metal (cation)
- Write the name of the non-metal (anion) but change the ending to “-ide”

1. BaCl2 2. Al2S3

3. MgCl2 4. KI

• How to write formula:

- Write the symbols of each element side by side
- Write the charges of each element as superscripts
- Criss-cross the charges to make subscripts
- Reduce, if necessary

1. Magnesium Oxide 2. Barium Iodide

3. Sodium Fluoride 4. Calcium Phosphide

Binary Ionic Compounds – Multivalent Elements

• Binary ionic compounds can also be made up of elements that have more than one charge
associated with them (typically found in transition metals).

• There are two ways to name ionic compounds with multivalent elements:
- IUPAC: Use roman numerals to indicate charge.
- Classical: Use Latin name of element and change ending depending on charge
(lower charge = -ous; higher charge = -ic)

1. Fe2O3 2. SnO2

3. PbO 4. CuCl

• How to write formula:

- Use criss-cross method

1. Iron (III) Phosphide 2. Ferric Bromide

3. Cupric Oxide 4. Copper (II) Bromide

Ternary Ionic Compounds

• Ternary ionic compounds are compounds that contain polyatomic ions

• Polyatomic ions are ions that are made up of more than one element and act as a single charged
particle.

• There are 5 common polyatomic ions that end in “-ate” and they can be remembered using this
pneumonic:
- The first letters represent the name of the polyatomic ion
- The number of consonants represents the number of oxygens
- The number of vowels represents the charge

Nick the Camel ate Clam for Supper in Phoenix

• The 5 “-ates” are considered to be oxyanions because they contain oxygen. However, the
number of oxygens can vary, which affects how polyatomic ions are named.
- 1 more oxygen = per + root + ate
- 1 less oxygen = root + ite
- 2 less oxygen = hypo + root + ite

SO52-

SO42-

SO32-

SO22-

• How to name Ternary Compounds:

- Write the name of the metal (cation)
- Write the name of the polyatomic ion (anion)

1. Mg3(PO4)2 2. Na2CO3 3. NH4Cl

 Nomenclature
Acids

Binary Acids

• Binary acids are compounds made up of an H atom and a non-metal.

• How to name:
- Write the prefix “hydro-”
- Write the name of the non-metal but change the ending to “-ic”
- Add the word “acid” to the end

1. HCl(aq) 2. HI(aq)

3. HBr(aq) 4. HF(aq)

Oxyacids

• Oxyacids are compounds made up of an H atom with a polyatomic ion that contains an oxygen.

• How to name:
- Write the root of the polyatomic ion and replace the ending by
a) If ends in “-ate”, change the ending to “-ic”
b) If ends in “ite”, change the ending to “-ous”
- Write “acid” at the end.

1. HNO3(aq) 2. H2SO4(aq)

3. HBrO2(aq) 4. H2CO(aq)
 Nomenclature
Hydrates

Hydrates

• Hydrates are ionic compounds with water as part of their crystal structure.

• How to name:
- Write the name of the ionic compound
- Use prefixes to indicate the number of “hydrates”

1. ZnSO4 • 7H2O 2. CuCl2 • 2H2O

3. Pb(ClO4)2 • 3H2O 4. SnCl4 • 5H2O

• How to write formula:

- Write the formula for the ionic compound
- Write the formula for water with the coefficient indicating number of hydrates
- Separate ionic compound and water by a dot.

1. Barium chloride hexahydrate 2. Iron (II) sulfate dihydrate

 Nomenclature
Molecular Compounds

Molecular Compounds

• Molecular compounds are made up of 2 non-metals joined together by a covalent bond.

• How to name:
- Name the first element, including prefixes to indicate how many
are in the compound.
- Name the second element, including prefixes to indicate how
many are in the compound, and change the ending to “-ide”

• Important to remember:
- Prefix “mono-” is not used when naming the first element
- Never reduce the chemical formula

1. H2O 2. P4S9

3. CO 4. N2O4