Part 1

Naming inorganic
Compounds and Writing
Formulas
 Common and systematic names

IUPAC (international Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry)

Each compound has a name indicating its composition and

its properties

A lot of chemicals have common names as well as the

proper IUPAC name

Chemicals that should always be named by common name

and never named by the IUPAC method are:
 H2O water, not dihydrogen monoxide

 NH3 ammonia, not nitrogen trihydrid

To keep in mind!
1. Rules to assign Oxidation Numbers (O.N.)

2. Classification of molecules

3. Rules to assign names and write formula

4. Chemical reactions  balancing equations

 1. Oxidation number

Oxidation number of an element

represents the positive or negative
character of an atom of that element in
a particular bonding situation
 Rules for Assigning Oxidation Numbers (O.N.)
The oxidation number of an atom in the elemental state is zero
Example: Cl2 and Al both are 0

The oxidation number of a monatomic ion is equal to its charge

Example: In the compound NaCl, the sodium has an oxidation number of 1+ and the chlorine is 1-

The algebraic sum of the oxidation numbers in the formula of a compound is zero
Example: the oxidation numbers in the NaCl add up to 0

The oxidation number of hydrogen in a compound is 1+, except when hydrogen forms compounds called hydrides
where it is 1-
Examples: H is 1+ in H2O, but 1- in NaH

The oxidation number of oxygen in a compound is 2-, except in peroxides when it is 1-

Example: In H2O the oxygen is 2-, in H2O2 it is 1-

The algebraic sum of the oxidation numbers in the formula for a polyatomic ion is equal to the charge of that ion
Example: in the sulfate ion, SO42-, the oxidation numbers of the sulfur and the oxygens add up to 2-. The
oxygens are 2- each, and the sulfur is 6+
 Assigning Oxidation Numbers (O.N.)

The oxidation number

Ionic compounds monatomic ions is equal to the charge

Barium cloride BaCl2 (Ba2+ 2Cl-) +2(Ba) -1(Cl)

Sodium solfate Na2SO4 (2Na+ SO42-) +1(Na) -2(SO42-)
+6(S) -8(O) = -2

polyatomic ion The algebraic sum of the

O.N. in the formula is equal
to the charge of the ion 
The O.N in the formula add up to 0 O.N. of the sulfur and the
Covalent compounds oxygens add up to 2-

Hydrogen oxide H2O2 -1 (O) +1 (H)

Hydrogen H2 0 (H)

The O.N. of an atom in the elemental state is zero

 Determining the oxidation state

The algebraic sum of the oxidation numbers in the formula of a compound is zero

Potassium dichromate K2Cr2O7 (2K+ Cr2O72-)

N.O. Cr = ? (Cr = +2, +3, +6)

0 = +1(K) + x(Cr) -2(O)

0 = +1(2) + x(2) -2(7)
0 = +2 + x(2) -14
x = -14 +2/2

 Cr = + 6
 Classifying the inorganic compounds

BINARY COMPOUNDS composed of just two elements

TERNARY COMPOUNDS containing three or more elements

 Classifying the inorganic compounds

IONIC OXIDE
Me + nMe
IONIC compounds
SALTS

COVALENT OXIDE
BINARY nMe + nMe
COVALENT compounds
COMPOUNDS
SALTS

H+ nMe
HYDRACID
 Classifying the inorganic compounds

Cation + Anion
IONIC OXIDE
Me + nMe
IONIC compounds
SALTS

COVALENT OXIDE
BINARY nMe + nMe
COVALENT compounds
COMPOUNDS
SALTS

H+ nMe
HYDRACID
 Naming binary compounds

IONIC COMPOUNDS (Me + n-Me)

Cation name (Me) + Anion name (n-Me) ending in –IDE

Ionic OXIDE K2O (2K+ O2-) Potassium oxide

Me + nMe  IONIC COMPOUNDS

Binary SALTS BaCl2 (Ba2+ 2Cl-) Barium cloride

Monatomic Ions
Naming binary compounds

IONIC COMPOUNDS

When the METALS can assume more

than one oxidation state……
Cations formed from Transition Metals
 Fe (+2, +3)

(older name) (systematic-stock name)

+2  FeO ferrous oxide iron (II) oxide
+3 Fe2O3 ferric oxide iron (III) oxide

suffix - OUS (lower) Roman numerals

suffix - IC (higher)
 Classifying the inorganic compounds

IONIC OXIDE
Me + nMe
IONIC compounds
SALTS

COVALENT OXIDE
BINARY nMe + nMe
COVALENT compounds
COMPOUNDS
SALTS

1H+ nMe
HYDRACID
Naming binary compounds

HYDRACID (1H + nMe)

prefix Hydro + anion name (nMe) ending in –IC + acid

Anion Acid

-IDE  -IC

1H+nMe  HYDRACID HF (H+ F- ) fluoride

hydrofluoric acid
hydrogen fluoride
 Classifying the inorganic compounds

IONIC OXIDE
Me + nMe
IONIC compounds
SALTS

COVALENT OXIDE
BINARY nMe + nMe
COVALENT compounds
COMPOUNDS
SALTS

H+ nMe
HYDRACID
Naming binary compounds

COVALENT COMPOUNDS (nMe + n-Me)

1° n-Me name + 2° n-Me name ending in –IDE
PREFIX in case of two or more atoms

Prefix
(mono)- 1
di- 2
(use the prefix!) tri- 3
tetra- 4
penta- 5
hesa- 6

Covalent OXIDE CO2 carbon dioxide

N2O3 dinitrogen trioxide
nMe + nMe  COVALENT COMPOUNDS

SALTS CCl4 carbon tetracloride

PCl5 phosphorus pentachloride
Si B P H C S I Br N Cl O F

The elemet that occurs first in this series is

written and name first, the neme of the second
element retains the -IDE ending
 Naming oxides
I prefissi valgono pure per gli ossidi ionici?!!!

stock tradizionale

CrO3 chromium (VI) oxide chromium trioxide

MnO2 manganese (IV) oxide manganese dioxide
SO3 sulfur (VI) oxide sulfur trioxide
SO2 sulfur (IV) oxide sulfur dioxide
 Classifying the inorganic compounds

Me + OH-
HYDROXIDE

Me + polyatomic anion
TERNARY TERNARY SALTS
COMPOUNDS

H + polyatomic anion
OXYACID
 Polyatomic Ions
TERNARY SALTS AND OXYACIDS CONTAIN POLYATOMIC IONS
Naming ternary compounds

TERNARY SALTS

Cation name (Me) + polyatomic anion ending in

(higher) (lower) ox. State
–ATE or –ITE
Depending on the charge of the n-Me

Na3PO4 (3Na+ PO43-) sodium phosphate

MgSO4 (Mg2+ SO42-) magnesium sulfate S = -6
MgSO3 (Mg2+ SO32-) magnesium sulfite S = -4
Naming ternary compounds

OXYACID
Name of the polyatomic anion changing its ending as follows:

Anion Acid
-ATE  -IC
-ITE  -OUS
Depending on the charge of the n-Me

followed by –”acid”

H2SO4 (2H+ SO42-)  sulfate

sulfuric acid
H + polyatomic anion  OXYACID

HClO2 (H+ ClO2-)  clorite

chlorous acid
Naming ternary compounds

In case of multiple oxidation states

 Prefix and suffix

Anion name Acid name
for the lowest n.ox HYPO ………….–ITE HYPO….………OUS
2° n.ox ....……………….-ITE ..….…………….OUS
3° n.ox ...………………-ATE ….…………………IC
for the higher n.ox PER ….………..-ATE PER….……………IC

Es. Cl n.ox. 1, 3, 5, 7

n.ox. +1 hypochlorite ClO-  HCIO hypochlorous acid

n.ox. +3  chlorite ClO2-  HClO2 chlorous acid
n.ox. +5  chlorate ClO3-  HClO3 chloric acid
n.ox. +7  Perchlorate ClO4-  HClO4 perchloric acid
 Classifying the inorganic compounds

Me + OH-
HYDROXIDE

TERNARY Me + polyatomic anion

COMPOUNDS TERNARY SALTS

H + polyatomic anion
OXYACID
Naming ternary compounds

HYDROXIDE

Cation name (Me) + “hydroxide”

Me + OH-  HYDROXIDE NaOH (Na+ OH-) sodium hydroxide

 Part 2

Chemical reaction:
Features and Balancing
 Chemical equation
One substance changes chemically into
another substance

Reactants starting materials

Products resulting substance

Additional information in a chemical reaction:

Physical state of the substance (solid, liquid, or gas)

Identifies the solvent, if there is one (a solvent is the solution the materials are
dissolved in, such as water)

Experimental conditions such as heat, light, or electrical energy added

 Types of Chemical Reactions

There are four main types of chemical

reactions

1. Precipitation reactions

2. Reactions with Oxygen

3. Acid-base reactions

4. Oxidation-reduction reactions
 1. Precipitation reactions
• A chemical change that produces an insoluble product that
will form a solid.
• Usually the solid can be seen “falling out” of the solution,
hence, called precipitation. At other times the solid makes the
solution turn from clear to cloudy.

2. Reactions with oxygen

•Many substances react with oxygen.
• If the substance contains carbon then carbon dioxide is
usually produced.
• If the substance contains hydrogen, then water is usually
produced.
 3. Acid-base Reactions

This involves an acid combining with a base to form a salt

HCl(aq) + NaOH(aq) → NaCl(aq) + H2O(aq)

4. Oxidation Reduction Reactions

Involves the transfer of negative charge from one reactant to

another

Zn(s) + Cu2+ (aq) → Zn2+ (aq) + Cu (s)

 Features of a chemical reaction

CaCO3(s) →∆ CaO(s) + CO2(g)

The
Reactants products
are on the are on the
left of the right of the
arrow. arrow.

The arrow
indicates the
reaction
occurs in one
direction.
Features of a chemical reaction

CaCO3(s) →∆ CaO(s) + CO2(g)

“l”
“s” indicates would
the chemical indicat “g” indicates
is a solid e the the substance
substance substa is a gas
nce
was a
liquid.
Features of a chemical reaction

Law of Conservation of Mass

CaCO3(s) →∆ CaO(s) + CO2(g)

The main feature of a chemical equation is that it is

balanced with the same number of elements in
compounds on both sides of the arrow
 Balancing a chemical equation
Apply the Law of Conservation of Mass to get the same number of
atoms of every element on each side of the equation

CaCO3(s) → CaO(s) + CO2(g)

On the reactant On the product

side side
1 mol Ca 1 mol Ca
1 mol C 1 mol C
3 moles of O 3 moles of O
The equation is balanced!
 Stoichiometric Coefficients

•Law of Conservation of Mass  In a balanced reaction, both

sides of the equation have the same number of elements.

•The stoichiometric coefficient is the number written in

front of atoms, ion and molecules in a chemical reaction to
balance the number of each element on both the reactant
and product sides of the equation.

•This stoichiometric coefficients establish the mole ratio

between reactants and products.
 Steps to balancing a
chemical equation

Step 1 Count the number of moles of atoms of

each element on both product and reactant side

H2(g) + O2(g)  H2O(l)

On the reactant On the product

side: side:
2 moles of H 2 moles of H
2 moles of O 1 mole of O
 Steps to balancing a
chemical equation

Step 2 Determine which elements are not balanced

H2(g) + O2(g)  H2O(l)

The oxygen atoms

are not balanced in
this equation.
 Steps to balancing a
chemical equation
Step 3 Balance one element at a time

H2(g) + O2(g)  H2O(l)

First O: H2(g) + O2(g)  2H2O(l)

Then H: 2H2(g) + O2(g)  2H2O(l)
 Steps to balancing a
chemical equation

Step 4 After you believe you have successfully

balanced the equation, check to make sure you
have the same number of atoms on both sides
of the equation.

2H2(g) + O2(g)  2H2O(l)

4 moles of H 4 moles of H
2 moles of O 2 moles of O
Fe3O4 + H2 Fe + H2O

On the On the product

reactant side side
3 moles Fe 1 mole Fe
2 moles H 2 moles H
4 moles O 1 mole O

The equation is not balanced

 Fe3O4 + H2 Fe + H2O

1) Fe: Fe3O4 + H2 3 Fe + H2O

2) O: Fe3O4 + H2 3 Fe + 4 H2O

3) H: Fe3O4 + 4 H2 3 Fe + 4 H2O
Fe3O4 + 4 H2 3 Fe + 4 H2O

On the On the product

reactant side side
3 moles Fe 3 mole Fe
8 moles H 8 moles H
4 moles O 1 mole O

The equation is balanced