CHEMICAL FORMULAS AND
CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS
Objectives:
1. Explain the significance of a chemical
formula.
2. Determine the formula of an ionic
compound formed between two given ions.
3. Name an ionic compound given its formula.
4. Using prefixes, name a binary molecular
compound from its formula.
5. Write the formula of a binary molecular
compound given its name.
Chemical names and
Formulas
There are millions of natural and synthetic
chemical compounds
Calcium carbonate – limestone
Sodium chloride – table salt
Dihydrogen monoxide – water
◾These are their chemical and common names
🢝 Chemical names help to describe the
atomic makeup
of the compounds
Significance of a
Chemical Formula
Chemical formula
Indicates the relative number of atoms of each
kind in a chemical compound.
Molecular formula
Indicates the relative number of atoms of each
kind in a molecule. (Covalently bonded)
C8H18
Subscript indicates there Subscript indicates there
are 8 atoms of carbon in a are 18 atoms of hydrogen
molecule of octane in a molecule of octane
Chemical formula for ionic compound
Ionic compound consists of lattice of positive and
negative ions held together by mutual
attraction.
Chemical formula represented by one formula
unit
◾ Simplest ratio of the compounds positive and
negative
ions
◾ Aluminum sulfate below consists of aluminumSubscript
cations3 refers to
and sulfate ionsAl2(SO4)3 everything inside the
parentheses giving 3
sulfate ions, with a total
Subscript 2 refers to 2 of 3 sulfur atoms and
Aluminum atoms Subscript 4 refers 12 oxygen atoms
to 4 oxygen atoms
Note: when you only in the sulfate ion
have one of an Note: parentheses are
atom, no subscript is used to identify
polyatomic ion as one unit
Monatomic
ions
Ions formed from a single atom
Examples
◾ Na+1 lose one electron
◾ Mg2+
◾S2- gain two electrons
◾N-3
Not◾all
Cl1- main-group elements readily form ions
Examples
◾ Carbon & Silicon form covalent bonds
d-block elements form variable charges
examples
◾ Copper, can be Cu+1 or Cu+2
◾ Iron, can be Fe+2 or Fe+3
◾ Lead, can bePb+2, Pb+3, or Pb+4
Naming Monatomic
ions
Positive ions
Name of element
◾Ex: K+ Potassium
Mg+2 Magnesium
Al+3
Sr+2
Negative
Base of element + -ide
ions
ending
◾Ex: F-1 Fluoride
N-3 Nitride
O-2
Br-1
Binary Ionic
Compounds
Compounds composed of two different
elements
Total # of positive charges must be equal to total # of
negative charges
Writing formulas, Ex: Aluminum oxide
1. Write the symbols for ions (Cation first)
Al+3 O-2
2. Cross over
+3 -2the charges as subscripts
Al2O3
3. Check to make sure total charges are equal, divide by largest
number, to give smallest whole-number ratio
Al2O3
2 x (+3) = +6 3 x (-2) = -6
IONIC COMPOUNDS
If charges cancel, just write the symbols
Na+1 Cl-1 NaCl
If charges do not cancel, criss-cross:
Ca+2 Cl-1 CaCl2
***Do not move the charge, only the
number
***Do not write the 1
Naming binary
ionic compounds
Nomenclature
Naming system
Name Al2O3
Name cation first : full name of cation
Aluminum
Name Anion last : base of anion + -ide
oxide
Al2O3
aluminum oxide
Practice Naming and Writing
Formulas
Name
zinc silver
strontium oxide chloride
fluoride
Write the formulas for
1. Zinc iodide
2. Zinc sulfide
3. Aluminum sulfide
Stock System of
Some cations may have two or more different charges
Nomenclature
Use stock system of naming (usually with d-block elements)
Roman numeral represents charge in parentheses
Fe+2
Fe+3
Iron(II)
Iron(III)
Some cations that commonly form only one cation
Do not use roman numerals ( main group elements)
No Anions form more than one charge
+2 -1
CuCl2
copper(II) chloride
Practice stock
system
Write formula and give name for compound
formed by ions Cr+3 and F-1
CrF3
chromium(III) fluoride
Write formulas and give name for the
following ionic compounds:
Cu+2 and Br-1
Fe+2 and O-2
Fe+3 and O-2
Compounds
containing
All but NH
Polyatomic Ions
4
+, ammonium ion, are negatively
charged
Most are oxyanions
◾ Examples
🢝 NO3 -1 NO 2-1
nitrate nitrite
Most common anion has –ate ending
Anion with one less oxygen has –ite ending
🢝 Anion with two less oxygen has hypo prefix
and –ite
ending
🢝 Anion with one extra oxygen has per prefix and –ate
-1
ClO ending ClO -1
3 2 ClO-1 ClO -1 4
chlorate chlorite hypochlorite perchlorate
Naming Compounds with
Polyatomic Ions
Same as naming for ionic compounds except
Name polyatomic ion as one unit
◾Example:
🢝 AgNO3
silver nitrate
Use parentheses if more than one polyatomic ion
◾Example
-2
🢝 Al2(SO4)3 Show 2 Al+3 ions and 3 SO4
ions
aluminum sulfate
Writing Formulas and Naming
Compounds with Polyatomic Ions
Write the formula for these:
1. tin(IV) sulfate
2. calcium chloride
3. lithium nitrate
4. calcium nitrite
5. potassium perchlorate
Write the names for these:
1. Ag2O silver oxide
2. Ca(OH)2 calcium hydroxide
3. NH4OH ammonium hydroxide
iron(II) chromate
4. FeCrO4
potassium hypochlorite
5. KClO
Naming Binary Molecular
Compounds
May use stock system to name these
New system – must understand oxidation
numbers
Prefix system
Old system – must know numerical
prefixes
1. mono- 6. hexa-
2. di- 7. hepta-
3. tri- 8. octa-
4. tetra- 9. nona-
5. penta- 10. deca-
Rules for prefix system of
Nomenclature
1. less-electronegative element is given first
• First element only gets a
prefix if it has more than one Ex:
P4O10
2. Second element is named by
combining
a. Prefix indicating number of atoms
b. Root of name of second element
c. -ide ending
Ex: tetra
phosphorus
decoxide
3. The o or a at the end of a prefix is usually
dropped when the word following the prefix
The 6 binary compounds of
Nitrogen and Oxygen
N2O dinitrogen
NO monoxide nitrogen
monoxide
NO2
nitrogen dioxide
N2O3
dinitrogen trioxide
N2O4
dinitrogen tetroxide
N2O5 dinitrogen
•Name the following •Write formulas for the following
pentoxide
molecular compounds molecular compounds
1. SO3 1. carbon tetraiodide
2. ICl3 2. phosphorus trichloride
3. PBr5 3. oxygen difluoride
