‭ hemical compounds are formed when elements are joined by chemical bonds.

‬
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‭Chemical bonds are strong forces that hold atoms together in a compound.‬
‭Chemists use rules in naming chemical compounds. These are standard rules set‬
‭by many chemists around the world. These names were derived from the names‬
‭of elements and their construction of the molecule. Following are rules in naming‬
‭chemical compounds.‬

‭●‬ ‭ ule 1‬‭:‬‭In naming binary compounds (ionic compounds) composed of‬
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‭metal and non-metal, the name of the electropositive element (metal) is‬
‭written first followed by the name of electronegative element‬
‭(non-metal) ending in‬‭~ide.‬
‭●‬ ‭Examples‬
‭●‬

‭Chemical Compound‬ ‭Chemical Name‬

‭BaO‬ ‭Barium (Ba) oxide (O) =‬‭Barium oxide‬

‭MgCl‬‭2‬ ‭Magnesium (Mg) chloride (Cl) =‬ ‭Magnesium chloride‬

‭ZnI‬‭2‬ ‭Zinc (Zn) iodide (I) =‬‭Zinc iodide‬

‭●‬ ‭ or‬‭ternary compounds‬‭, same rule 1 is applied. Write the name of metal‬
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‭element followed by the name of polyatomic ion.‬
‭●‬ ‭Examples:‬
‭●‬

‭Chemical Compound‬ ‭Chemical name‬

‭Mg(OH)‬‭2‬ ‭Magnesium (Mg) hydroxide (OH) =‬‭Magnesium hydroxide‬

‭Ca‬‭3‭(‬ PO‬‭4‭)‬ ‭2‬ ‬ ‭Calcium (Ca) phosphate (PO‬‭4‬‭) =‬‭Calcium phosphate‬

‭(NH‬‭4‬‭)‭2‬ ‬‭SO‬‭4‬ ‭Ammonium (NH‬‭4‭)‬ sulfate (SO‬‭4‬‭) =‬‭Ammonium sulfate‬

‭●‬ ‭ ULE 2‬‭: In naming binary and ternary compounds metals with variable‬
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‭oxidation numbers, there are two names used namely‬‭Stock name‬
‭(Systematic names)‬‭and‬‭Classical Name (Trivial or common name)‬‭.‬
 ‭●‬ ‭Examples‬
‭●‬

‭Compounds‬ ‭Stock name‬ ‭Classical name‬

‭Gold (I) fluoride‬ ‭Aurous fluoride‬

‭AuF‬

‭Gold (III) fluoride‬ ‭Auric fluoride‬

‭AuF‬‭3‬

‭Iron (II) sulfate‬ ‭Ferrous sulfate‬

‭FeSO‬‭4‬

‭Iron (III) sulfate‬ ‭Ferric sulfate‬

‭Fe‬‭2‭(‬ SO‬‭4‭)‬ 3‬

‭ ULE 3‬‭: Naming binary compound (covalent compounds), rule 1 is applied,‬

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‭prefixes are used to denote the number of in addition the elements.‬

‭●‬ ‭Examples‬
‭‬
● ‭1. CO‬‭2‬ ‭- Carbon dioxide (There are 2 oxide ions, hence di~ prefix is added to oxide =‬‭di‬‭oxide)‬
‭●‬ ‭2. SF‬‭6‬ ‭- Sulfur hexafluoride (There are 6 fluoride ions, hence prefix hexa~ is added to fluoride =‬‭hexa‬‭fluoride)‬
‭●‬ ‭2. N‬‭2‭H ‬ ‬ ‭- Dinitrogen tetrahydride (There are 2 nitrogen atoms, prefix di~ is added to nitrogen =‬‭Di‬‭nitrogen ;‬
‬ ‭4

‭and there 4 hydride ions, prefix tetra~ is added to hydride =‬‭tetra‬‭hydride)‬

‭NOTE: This rule is only APPLIED and used for BINARY COVALENT COMPOUNDS.‬

‭Rule 4: NAMING ACIDS‬

‭Naming Binary Acids‬

‭ inary acids‬‭contain hydrogen ions (H‬‭+‭)‬ and nonmetal ions. In their gaseous or‬
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‭liquid state, binary acids are named hydrogen compounds with‬‭-ide‬‭ending (their‬
‭salt name‬‭).‬

‭Example: HCl = Hydrogen chloride‬

‭ or the‬‭acid name‬‭, when added with water, binary acids are named using the‬
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‭prefix‬‭hydro-‬‭followed by the stem of the second nonmetal name with‬‭-ic‬‭ending.‬
‭The word‬‭acid‬‭is added as part of the name.‬

‭Example: HCl‬‭= (‬‭hydro-‬‭) + (‬‭chloro-‬‭) + (‬‭-ic)‬‭+‬‭acid‬

‭HCl = Hydrochloric acid‬

‭NAMING TERNARY ACIDS‬

‭ ernary acids are composed of hydrogen ions (H‬‭+‭)‬ and polyatomic ion. If the‬
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‭oxyanion in the acid ends in -ate change the ending to -ic, then add the last term‬
‭"acid".‬

‭Suffix ending: ~ate (higher oxidation state)‬

‭Suffix ending: ~ite (lower oxidation state)‬

‭ xample: HNO‬‭3‬ ‭= The‬‭[NO‬‭3‬‭]‭-‬1‬ ‭is an oxyanion known as‬‭nitrate‬‭. From the word‬
E
‭"nitrate", remove the‬‭-ate‬‭ending and add‬‭-ic‬‭ending plus the last term‬‭acid‬‭.‬

‭HNO‬‭3‬ ‭= nitr‬‭ate‬‭+‬‭-ic‬‭+‬‭acid‬‭=‬‭nitric acid‬

‭HClO‬‭4‬ ‭= perchlor‬‭ate‬‭+‬‭-ic‬‭+‬‭acid =‬‭perchloric acid‬

I‭f the oxyanion in the acid ends in‬‭-ite‬‭change the ending to‬‭-ous‬‭, then add the last‬
‭term‬‭"acid"‬‭.‬

‭ xample: HNO‬‭2‬ ‭= The‬‭[NO‬‭2‬‭]‭-‬1‬ ‭is an oxyanion known as‬‭nitrite‬‭. From the word‬
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‭"nitrite", remove the‬‭-ite‬‭ending and add‬‭-ous‬‭ending plus the last term‬‭acid‬‭.‬

‭HNO‬‭2‬ ‭= nitr‬‭ite‬‭+‬‭-ous‬‭+‬‭acid‬‭=‬‭Nitrous acid‬

‭H‬‭2‭S
‬ O‬‭3‬ ‭= (SO‬‭3-2‬‭) sulf‬‭ite‬‭+‬‭-ous‬‭+‬‭acid =‬‭Sulfurous acid‬

‭RULE 5 - Naming Hydrates‬

‭●‬ ‭ ydrated ionic compounds (i.e., hydrates) have a specific number of‬
H
‭water molecules in their chemical formulas.‬
‭●‬ ‭In the solid, these water molecules (also called‬‭"waters of hydration"‬‭)‬
‭are part of the structure of the compound.‬
‭●‬ ‭Examples‬
‭●‬ ‭1. CuSO‬‭4‬ ‭• 5H‬‭2‭O‬ - Copper (II) Sulfate‬‭penta‬‭hydrate or Cupric sulfate‬
‭penta‬‭hydrate‬
‭●‬ ‭2. MgSO‬‭4‬ ‭• 7H‬‭2‭O‬ - Magnesium sulfate‬‭hepta‬‭hydrate‬