Chemical Nomenclature
Many everyday and historically important chemical compounds have common names. For example, water is the common name for H2O, baking soda is the common name for NaHCO3 and KNO3, an important component of gunpowder, is known as saltpeter. However, since there are over 50 million known chemical compounds, learning a common name for each one would be very difficult. Chemical nomenclature is a systematic method of naming chemical compounds. Having a system for naming means that we don’t have to learn 50 million names, we only have to learn the rules for naming. It also allows scientists who speak different languages to communicate effectively. The rules for chemical nomenclature come from the International Union for Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), a group made up of chemists from all over the world. In this exercise you will learn rules for naming ionic and covalent compounds and learn to predict the ratios that chemicals combine in based on their ionic charge.
A. Naming Type I Binary Ionic Compounds Type I binary ionic compounds are made of (1) a metal that can only have one possible charge and (2) a nonmetal. The metal is the cation, or positively charged ion and the nonmetal is the anion, or negatively charged ion. In the chemical formula, the cation is always written first and the anion is written second. Cations that fall under Type I naming include Group 1A alkali metals, which always form 1+ cations and Group 2A alkaline earth metals which always form 2+ cations. Most transition metals fall under Type II naming, discussed below, but the exceptions are silver (Ag), which always forms 1+ cations and zinc (Zn) and cadmium (Cd), which always form 2+ cations.
In naming a Type I binary ionic compound, the cation gets written first using its full element name. The anion is written second using the stem of its element name and adding an “ide” ending. For instance, fluorine becomes fluoride and oxygen becomes oxide.
Examples: NaCl sodium chloride MgBr2 magnesium bromide Ionic compounds are electronically neutral, meaning the charges on the anions and cations balance to zero. To determine a formula from a chemical name, you must first determine the charges on the ions in the compound and then figure out how many of each are needed to balance the charges. For instance calcium chloride is made of Ca2+ and Cl- - ions. For the charges to balance there need to be two Cl ions, which makes the formula CaCl2
B. Naming Type II Binary Ionic Compounds Type II binary ionic compounds are made of (1) a metal that can have more than one possible charge and (2) a nonmetal. Type II cations are typically transition metals. For instance, Iron form either Fe2+ or Fe3+cations. Two non- transition metal elements that form more than one ion are Tin (Sn) and Lead (Pb).
2+ 3+ Iron can form two compounds with chlorine: Fe forms FeCl2, Fe forms FeCl3. These are two different compounds with different physical and chemical characteristics. (For example, FeCl2 has a melting point of 306° C, while FeCl3 melts at 677° C.) Therefore, we cannot simply call both compounds “iron chloride.” Type II naming allows us to distinguish between the two compounds. Type II cations get named as their full element name plus a Roman numeral in parentheses representing the cation charge. For instance, Fe2+ gets named Iron (II) and Fe3+ gets named Iron (III). The anion is written as the “ide” form of the element.
Examples: CuO copper (II) oxide SnCl4 tin (IV) chloride
C. Naming Ionic Compounds with Polyatomic Ions
Polyatomic ions are ions composed of two or more covalently bonded atoms that can be thought of as a single unit (they do not break up further in water). Ionic compounds that have three or more elements are generally + composed of a metal cation and polyatomic anion. Ammonium (NH4 ) is the only common polyatomic cation. The names, formulas and charges of polyatomic ions must be memorized (see table of common polyatomic ions below). Ionic compounds with polyatomic ions get named in the same way as Type I and II binary ionic compounds with the name of the polyatomic ion in the place of the anion name. If more than one polyatomic ion is needed to balance the charges, the whole ion gets put in parentheses.
Examples: Li2CO3 lithium carbonate Pb(NO3)2 lead (II) nitrate NH4Cl ammonium chloride
Ions with 1- charge Ions with 2- charge - 2- NO2 Nitrite SO3 Sulfite - 2- NO3 Nitrate SO4 Sulfate - 2- ClO Hypochlorite HPO4 Hydrogen Phosphate - 2- ClO2 Chlorite CO3 Carbonate - 2- ClO3 Chlorate CrO4 Chromate - 2- ClO4 Perchlorate Cr2O7 Dichromate - 2- CN Cyanide C2O4 Oxalate - 2- OH Hydroxide O2 Peroxide - MnO4 Permanganate - HSO4 Hydrogen sulfate Ions with 3- charge - 3- HCO3 Hydrogen carbonate PO4 Phosphate - H2PO4 Dihydrogen phosphate - NCS Thiocyanate Ions with 1+ /2+ charge - + C2H3O2 Acetate NH4 Ammonium 2+ Hg2 Mercury(I)
D. Naming Binary Covalent compounds
Binary covalent compounds are made of two non-metals, as opposed to a metal and a non-metal. The system for naming covalent compounds is different from the one for ionic compounds and it is important to keep the two systems separate.
To name a covalent compound, the first element is written as its element name, the second element is written as its “ide” form, and both elements get a prefix that indicates the number of each element in a compound. If the prefix of the first element is mono, the prefix is dropped.
Prefixes 1 mono- 6 hexa- Examples: P2S5 diphosphorous pentasulfide 2 di- 7 hepta N2O dinitrogen monoxide 3 tri- 8 octa- NO2 nitrogen dioxide 4 tetra- 9 nona- 5 penta- 10 deca-
In naming a binary covalent compound, the first element in the name is the one farthest to the left in the periodic table (ex: carbon dioxide). If both elements in the compound are in the same group in the periodic table, the element towards the bottom of the periodic table is written first (ex: sulfur dioxide). Hydrogen is sometimes written first and sometimes written second in binary covalent compounds.
Some binary covalent compounds are always referred to using their common names. Important examples are:
H2O water H2O2 hydrogen peroxide NH3 ammonia H2S hydrogen sulfide CH4, methane
E. Naming Acids
Acids can be thought of as substances that release H+ ions when dissolved in water. Chemical formulas of acids contain one or more H+ ions and an anion – the ending of the anion determines how the acid is named. If the anion has an “ide” ending (i.e. chloride, cyanide), the hydro- prefix gets added to the anion name and “ide” is replaced with “ic acid”. If the anion ends in “ate” (i.e. chlorate), the “ate” is replaced with “ic acid”. If the anion ends in “ite” (i.e. sulfite), the “ite” is replaced with “ous acid.”
Examples: Acid Anion Name HCl (aq) chloride (Cl-) hydrochloric acid - HClO3 (aq) chlorate (ClO3 ) chloric acid - HClO2 (aq) chlorite (ClO2 ) chlorous acid
Determining Which Naming Method to Use:
Formula to Name
Name to Formula
Chemical Nomenclature: Worksheet Name ______
A. Name the following compounds:
Al₂S₃
NaH₂PO₄
Ca(ClO)2
Mn(HCO₃)₄
Ni(ClO)₂
Cr(OH)₃
Zn(HSO₄)₂
HNO3 (aq)
NO₃
SnCrO₄
Li2SO₄
Mg(ClO2)₂
ZnS
NH₄ClO3
Cu(MnO₄)₂
NaClO
Co₂(SO₃)₃
HCl (aq)
HClO₄ (aq)
N₂O
Fe₂S₃
(NH₄)3PO₄
PbO
NaOH
NiBr₂
Report Page 1 of 2 Chemical Nomenclature: Worksheet Name ______
B. Write the formulas for the following compounds:
manganese(II) chlorite
potassium nitride
mercury(II) sulfate
cobalt(III) sulfite
calcium chlorite
nickel(II) carbonate
silicon monoxide
diphosphorus pentoxide
cobalt(II) permanganate
lead(IV) nitrate
lead(II) sulfide
iron(III) chloride
zinc permanganate
manganese(II) bromide
xenon pentoxide
phosphorous pentchloride
Report Page 2 of 2