[LESSON 04] MOLECULES AND IONS, CHEMICAL FORMULAS, AND NAMING COMPOUNDS

GENERAL CHEMISTRY WITH ORGANIC CHEMISTRY | 1st SEM, AY 2023-2024

• When nonmetals gain electrons they become ions,

and their name does change.

• Metals lose/donate electrons. This gives them a

positive (+) charge.
• Nonmetals gain/accept electrons. This gives them a
negative (-) charge. STEPS FOR NAMING IONS
1. The names of metals do not change.
2. Changing the name of nonmetals: root of element
name + -ide = name of ion

EXAMPLES:
o The name of chlorine’s ion: chlor- + -ide = chloride
o The name of nitrogen’s ion: nitr- + -ide = nitride
o The name of calcium’s ion: calcium
o The name of oxygen’s ion: ox- + -ide = oxide
o The name of aluminum’s ion: aluminum

NAMING IONIC COMPOUNDS

Polyatomic Ions – ions that form after elements have STEPS FOR NAMING IONIC COMPOUNDS
shared electrons. Each polyatomic ion already has a
1. Write the name of the metal ion.
name.
2. Write the name of the nonmetal ion.
3. YOU ARE DONE! It is that easy.

EXAMPLES:
o CaBr2 – calcium bromide
o NaF – sodium fluoride
o SrCl2 – strontium chloride
o MgO – magnesium oxide
o Li2S – lithium sulfide
o CaO – calcium oxide
o KI – potassium iodide
CHEMICAL NOMENCLATURE
• When polyatomic ions are used, simply use the name
of the polyatomic ion in the compound.
NAMING IONS

EXAMPLES:
RULES FOR NAMING IONS
o NH4F – ammonium fluoride
• When metals lose electrons they become ions, but o CaSO4 – calcium sulfate
their name does not change. o Mg(NO3)2 – magnesium nitrate
o NaOH – sodium hydroxide
 o MgSO4 – magnesium sulfate
o KMnO4 – potassium permanganate

STEPS FOR NAMING IONIC COMPOUNDS WITH

TRANSITION METALS • To show the correct ratio of elements, we use prefixes.
1. Write the name of the cation with the charge written
using Roman numerals in parentheses.
2. Write the name of the anion.
3. YOU ARE DONE! It is that easy.

EXAMPLES:
o FeCl3 – iron (III) chloride
o Cu3(PO4)2 – copper (II) phosphate
o Hg2O – mercury (I) oxide
o CrCl3 – chromium (III) chloride

WRITING CHEMICAL FORMULAS OF IONIC

COMPOUNDS
1. Write the symbol of the metal ion.
2. Write the symbol of the nonmetal ion.
3. Determine the charges using the periodic table
(crisscross method the charges).
4. Determine the formula from the ions.
EXAMPLES:
o magnesium iodide: Mg2+ I- → MgI2
o lithium sulfide: Li+ S2- → Li2S
o potassium bromide: K+ Br- → KBr
o sodium chloride: Na+ Cl- → NaCl
o lithium nitride: Li+ N3- → Li3N
o strontium sulfide: Sr2+ S2- → SrS
o magnesium nitride: Mg2+ N3- → Mg3N2
EXAMPLES (WITH POLYATOMIC IONS):
o strontium nitrate: Sr2+ NO3- → Sr(NO3)2
o barium sulfate → BaSO4
o sodium carbonate → Na2CO3
o potassium permanganate → KMnO4
• The charges of the transition metals are important
when you are determining the formula of an ionic
compound.
EXAMPLES:
o iron (III) oxide: Fe3+ O2- → Fe2O3
o tin (IV) chloride → SnCl4
o copper (II) carbonate → CuCO3
o gallium (III) nitride → GaN
NAMING COVALENT COMPOUNDS
• Nonmetals can share electrons in different ways. This
means that two nonmetals can create multiple
compounds together.
RULES FOR USING PREFIXES
Rule 1: Prefixes are only for binary covalent
compounds.
Rule 2: The prefix mono- is never used on the first
element of a binary covalent compound.
Without a prefix, it is assumed that there is only
1.
✓ e.g., CO2 is carbon dioxide and not monocarbon
dioxide.
Rule 3: Remove the -o or -a from a prefix before adding
it to oxide.
✓ e.g., CO is carbon monoxide and not carbon
monoxide.
Remember: Remove the -o or -a from a prefix before
adding it to oxide. leave -i alone.
STEPS FOR NAMING COVALENT COMPOUNDS
1. Write the name of the first nonmetal.
2. Write the name of the second nonmetal changing its
ending to -ide.
3. Add prefixes to specify how many of each element
are present.
EXAMPLES:
o N2O4 – dinitrogen tetroxide
o CS2 – carbon disulfide
o CO2 – carbon dioxide
o P2S5 – diphosphorus pentasulfide
o N2S – dinitrogen monosulfide
o PBr3 – phosphorus tribromide
o N2Cl4 – dinitrogen tetrachloride
WRITING CHEMICAL FORMULAS OF IONIC
COMPOUNDS
1. Write the symbol of the first nonmetal and the
subscript that matches the prefix.
2. Write the symbol of the second nonmetal and the
subscript that matches the prefix.

EXAMPLES:
o N2F4 – dinitrogen tetrafluoride
o CCl4 – carbon tetrachloride
o N2S – dinitrogen monosulfide
o IF7 – iodine heptafluoride
o S2Br6 – disulfur hexabromide
o H2O – dihydrogen monoxide
• Because of the prefixes, it is very easy to go from the
name of a binary covalent compound to its formula.

NAMING ACIDS
Aqueous State – contains water.

Rules:
1. Hydro + stem name of non-metal + -ic acid
o HCl(aq) – Hydrochloric Acid
o HF(aq) – Hydrofluoric Acid
Anhydrous State – contains no water.

Rules:
1. Hydrogen + stem name of non-metal + -ide
o HI(g) – Hydrogen Iodide
o HF(l) – Hydrogen Fluoride