Structures

(cross and dot diagrams)

and inorganic nomenclature
4 MF

PART 1
Some crucial facts to remember
• Atoms have a tendency to combine to other atoms in such a way that
they complete their outer electron shell
• The e- that a neutral atom has in its outer shell are called the valence
electrons. These e- are important because they are the ones involved in
chemical reactions.

Elements from group I A have 1 valence e- (or outer shell e-)

group II A have 2 valence e-
group III A have 3 valence e-
group IV A have 4 valence e-
group V A have 5 valence e-
group VI A have 6 valence e-
group VII A have 7 valence e-
group VIII A have 8 valence e- (exception: He)
Type of chemical bond *

- The electronegativity (EN) is the

tendency of an atom to attract
bond electrons.

Type of bond
△ENH-Cl= 0.9 formed between:
ENH= 2.1 ENCl= 3.0 F and F:
- Atoms combine to other atoms F and O:
O and H:
forming chemical bonds. The
Ca and Cl:
type of bond formed depends H and Ca:
mainly* on the difference of Na and Na:
electronegativity (△EN).
0

covalent bond ionic bond

IMPORTANT: NonMe bound to NonMe always form covalent bond.
Me bound NonMe do not always form ionic bond, but we will suppose they do during 4th.
 HOW do atoms combine to form neutral compounds? Related to
composition
stoichiometry
• Valence electrons: number of e- that a neutral atom has in its outer shell
• Atoms have a tendency to combine to other atoms in such a way that they have a complete outer shell

Ways of representing how

atoms are bound in propane Exceptions:
“cross and dot diagram” (Cambridge)
H and Li
Most transition metals
B and Be (incomplete outer shell)
Expansion shell in some other elements

What is the formula and structure of the neutral compounds made of:

1) only of H and F?

2) only of H and Na?

3) only of H and O?

4) only of H and Ca?

aka “electron-dot diagram”
O2 O O
a dative bond is a 2-
electron covalent bond in
N2 N N which the
two electrons derive from
the same atom In general, the non metal with
S S intermediate EN is the central
S4 atom in the structure. O is
S S H and F are
always terminal
always surrounding the central
atoms atom

NH3 H N H
H
HClO H O Cl
NaBrO Na O Br
CO2 O C O
HClO2 H O Cl O
O NaBrO2 Na O Br O
HNO3 H O N O O
HClO3 H O Cl O O
O NaBrO3 Na O Br O
H2SO3 H O S O H O
HClO4 H O Cl O O
O O NaBrO4 Na O Br O
H2SO4 H O S O H O
O
 determining the formula polar covalent
Oxidation number / state important for ionic bond
bond
naming compounds

The oxidation number (ox nº) of an atom is the number of bond electrons totally / partially lost or gained
when bound to other atoms. Therefore the ox nº depends on the substance.
bond e- are lost if the
ox nº of H =
other atom is more
H F ox nº of F =
electronegative

ox nº of H = bond e- are gained if

H O H ox nº of O = the other atom is less
electronegative

ox nº of Na =
Na O Na ox nº of O =

ox nº of Na =
Na O H ox nº of O =
ox nº of H =

ox nº of Na =
Cl O H ox nº of O =
ox nº of H =
RULES: Oxidation number / state
1. The ox. nº of all the free elements (noble gases, pure metals such as Na, Cu, Fe, Mg, etc) or combined to other atoms of
the same element (H2, O2, Cl2, N2, etc) is 0.
2. The ox. nº of H is usually +1, except when is bound to metals, where it is -1 (AlH3, CaH2 and other metal hydrides).
3. The ox. nº of O is usually -2, except in peroxides where it is -1, and when it is bound to F.
4. The ox. nº of all metals is always positive. Metals from groups I, II and III A have ox. nº +1, +2 and +3 respectively.
Some transition metals have more than one ox. nº.
5. Non-metals usually have a unique negative ox. nº, but have many positive ox nº (for instance, when they are bound
to different number of O atoms. Exception: F, does not have any positive one)
6. The sum of the ox. nº of atoms in any chemical specie is equal to the charge of that specie. This is true for neutral
substances and for ions (simple and polyatomic ions)

The oxidation numbers and these rules can

be used to:

1) obtain the formula of a compound

without using the Lewis diagrams
2) obtain the oxidation number of an
element (specially those that have many
possible ones)
3) name the inorganic compound
(traditional and stock)
 The oxidation numbers and these rules can be used to: Besides, structure diagrams allow
to see the way atoms are bound
to each other, something that can
1) obtain the formula of a compound without using the structure diagrams (only in some cases) not be guessed from the
chemical formula

What is the formula of the compound made of Al and O?

What is the formula of the compound made of Ca, O and H?

2) obtain the oxidation number of an element (specially those that have many possible ones)
In most cases, elements
FeO H2SO3 AuH HCl in a chemical formula are
Fe2O3 CO written from left to right
H2SO4 H2S
as they increase in EN:
N2O NaClO4 CO2 CO2 from the lowest one at
the left, to the higher one
HNO2 Ni(ClO3)3 CuCO3 Na2O2 at the right. Exceptions:
hydroxides (Me+O+H),
CuBrO2 KIO OF2
HNO3 ammonia (NH3), and few
others.
3) name the inorganic compound (traditional and stock)