Symbols and Formulas

 Some symbols are derived from the first letter of the English name of
the element.
Ex. H, C, O, N, S
 Some are derived from the first two letters of the English name of the
element.
Ex. Co, Ca, Al, Ni, Si
 Other symbols are derived from the first letter of the English name of
the element and the other letter, which is not a second letter.
Ex. Cr, Cd, Mn, Cs, Hf
 Few symbols are derived from the Latin name of the element.

Common Name Latin Name Symbol

Antimony Stibnum Sb
Copper Cuprum Cu
Gold Aurum Au
Iron Ferrum Fe
Lead Plumbum Pb
Mercury Hydrargyrum Hg
Potassium Kalium K
Silver Argentum Ag
Sodium Natrium Na
Tin Stannum Sn
Tungsten Wolfram W

Oxidation number – the number of electrons an atom gains, loses or

shares when it forms chemical bonds

General Rules in Assigning the Oxidation State of a Compound

 The algebraic sum of the oxidation numbers for all the atoms in
polyatomic ion must equal the charge on the ion.
 The algebraic sum of the oxidation numbers for all the atoms in a
neutral compound is zero
 All Group IA elements in the Periodic Table are +1.
 All Group IIA elements in the Periodic Table are +2.
 Group VIIA elements are -1 when in binary compounds with less
electronegative elements.
 Some elements have more than one oxidation state. These are
referred to as the multi-valent elements.

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Rules in Writing Chemical Formulas
 Identify the symbol of the positive element (cation) and the negative
element (anion).
 Identify the oxidation state or charge of each symbol and place it as
superscript.
 To determine the number of atoms of each element, apply the criss-
cross method so that the algebraic sum of the positive and negative
oxidation number is equal to zero.

Examples:

1. Write the chemical formula of calcium chloride.

Ca+2 Cl-
CaCl2

2. Write the chemical formula of barium oxide.

Ba+2 O-2
Ba2O2 or BaO

3. Write the chemical formula of magnesium nitrate.

Mg+2 NO3-1
Mg(NO3)2

NAMING COMPOUNDS

Six categories of compounds

1. binary compounds containing a metal and a nonmetal
2. binary compounds containing a metal of variable oxidation number
3. binary compounds containing two nonmetals
4. binary acids
5. oxyacids
6. hydrates

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I. Binary compounds containing a metal (fixed oxidation number)
and a nonmetal

Binary compounds – are composed of only two different kinds of atoms

with positive (cation) or negative (anion) charges.

Rule: Name of metal + stem name of nonmetal + ide

Examples:

CaCl2 Calcium chloride

NaI Sodium Iodide

II. Binary compounds containing a metal (variable oxidation

number) and a nonmetal

Some Atoms with Multiple Valences

Fe2+ Iron II Fe3+ Iron III
Cu+ Copper I Cu2+ Copper II
Au+ Gold I Au3+ Gold III
Sn2+ Tin II Sn4+ Tin IV
Pb2+ Lead II Pb4+ Lead IV
Hg+ Mercury I Hg2+ Mercury II
Cr2+ Chromium II Cr3+ Chromium III
Mn2+ Manganese II Mn3+ Manganese III

Rule: Name of a metal + oxidation number in Roman Numeral

(enclosed in parenthesis) + stem name of nonmetal + ide

Examples:

Cu2O Copper (I) oxide PbBr2 Lead (II) bromide

CuO Copper (II) oxide PbBr4 Lead (IV) bromide

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III. Binary compounds containing two nonmetals

Rule: Prefix (except mono) + name of more electropositive element

+ prefix + stem name of more electronegative element + ide

Prefixes and their Numerical Equivalences

mono – means one hexa – means six

di – means two hepta – mean seven
tri – means three octa – means eight
tetra – means four nona – means nine
penta – means five deca – means tens

Examples:

CO Carbon monoxide SO2 Sulfur dioxide

CO2 Carbon dioxide SO3 Sulfur trioxide
N2O4 Dinitrogen tetroxide PCl5 Phophorous pentachloride

Exceptions to the used of Greek prefixes are compounds that contain

hydrogen:

H2O water NH3 ammonia

B2H6 diborane PH3 phosphine
CH4 methane H2S hydrogen sulfide
SiH4 silane

IV. Binary acids

Binary acids – composed of hydrogen and another nonmetallic element

which when dissolved in water produce hydrogen ions

*When an acid is dissolved in water, the prefix “hydro” is used. If it is in the

gaseous or liquid state, name just like binary compounds.

Rule (aqueous environment): hydro + stem name of nonmetal + ic acid

Rule (gaseous or liquid state): hydrogen + stem name of nonmetal +
ide

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Examples:

HCl(aq) hydrochloric acid HCl(l) hydrogen chloride

HF(aq) hydrofluoric acid HF(l) hydrogen fluoride
HBr(aq) hydrobromic acid HBr(l) hydrogen bromide
HI(aq) hydroiodic acid HI(l) hydrogen iodide

V. Oxyacids

Oxyacids – acids containing hydrogen and an oxyion

Oxyion – composed of oxygen and another element (usually nonmetal)

Rule: stem name of the element other than the oxygen and hydrogen
+ -ous or –ic + acid. The suffix –ous is used when the element
other than the oxygen and hydrogen is in lower oxidation state
and –ic when in higher oxidation state.

Examples:

HNO2 nitrous acid

HNO3 nitric acid
H2CO3carbonic acid (no other oxyacid formed)
H2SO4 sulfuric acid

Often more than two oxyacids in a series are formed. This time, the
prefixes per- and hypo- are added to the –ous and –ic names.

Examples:

HBrO (Br=+1) hypobromous acid

HBrO2 (Br=+3) bromous acid
HBrO3 (Br=+5) bromic acid
HBrO4 (Br=+7) perbromic acid

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VI. Hydrates

Hydrates – compounds that contain water molecules attached to them

Rule: Name of compound + prefix (corresponds to the number of

water molecules) + hydrate

Examples:

CuSO4.5H2O copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate

LiCl.H2O lithium chloride monohydrate

Seatwork:

I. Write down the chemical formula of the following compounds:

1. Potassium bromide 6. Barium hydride

2. Calcium oxide 7. Aluminum oxide

3. Magnesium fluoride 8. Calcium phosphide

4. Potassium nitride 9. Zinc chloride

5. Lithium fluoride 10. Sodium iodide

II. Identify the oxidation state of all the elements present in the following
compounds:

1. Mg(OH)2

2. P4O10

3. ZnCl2

4. Li3N

5. SnO