Chemical Nomenclature

Chemical nomenclature is the term given to the naming of compounds. The nomenclature used
most frequently worldwide is the one created and developed by the International Union of Pure
and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC).

▪ Nomenclature – from the Latin words ‘nomen’ meaning name and ‘clare’ meaning to call.
▪ Chemical formula – represents a compound in chemical symbols to indicate the element
and the number of atoms present in the compound.
▪ Valence electron – denotes the number of electrons in the outermost energy level. It also
indicates the combining power of an atom in a compound.
▪ Oxidation number – refers to the combining capacity of an atom but it specifies its charge.

Writing Chemical Formula:

1. Write first the positive element or ion.
2. The sum of the positive and negative elements or ions should always be equal to zero.
i.e. potassium chloride K+ Cl- KCl
magnesium sulfate Mg2+ SO42- MgSO4
aluminium chloride Al3+ Cl- AlCl3

a) Ionic Compounds
1. Positive Ions (Cations)
i. Cations formed from metal atoms have the same name as the metal.
i.e. Na+ sodium ion
Zn2+ zinc ion
Al3+ aluminium ion

ii. If a metal can form cations of differing charges, the positive charge is given by
a roman numeral in parenthesis following the name of the metal. (stock
system)
i.e. Fe2+ iron (II) ion Cu+ copper (I) ion
Fe3+ iron (III) ion Cu2+ copper (II) ion

iii. Older method used in distinguishing between two differently charged ions of
metal is to apply the ending -ous or -ic representing the lower and higher
charged ions, respectively.
i.e. Fe2+ ferrous ion Cu+ cuprous ion
Fe3+ ferric ion Cu2+ cupric ion

iv. Cations formed from non-metal atoms have names that end in -ium.
i.e. NH4+ ammonium ion
H3O+ hydronium ion

2. Negative Ions (Anions)

i. Monoatomic anions have names formed by dropping the ending of the name
of the element and adding the ending -ide.
i.e. H- hydride ion P3- phosphide ion
S 2- sulfide ion N 3- nitride ion
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 O2- oxide ion O22- peroxide ion

ii. Polyatomic anions containing oxygen have names ending in -ate or -ite. These
anions are called oxyanions. The ending -ate is used for the most common
oxyanion of an element and -ite is used for an oxyanion that has the same
charge but on less O atom. Prefix per- indicates more O atom than the
oxyanion -ate, and prefix hypo- indicates one less O atom than the oxyanion -
ite.
i.e. ClO4- perchlorate ion ClO2- chlorite ion
ClO3 chlorate ion
- ClO- hypochlorite ion

IO4- periodate ion IO2- iodite ion

IO3- iodate ion IO- hypoiodite ion

iii. Anions derived by adding H+ to an oxyanion are named by adding as a prefix

the hydrogen or dihydrogen, as appropriate.
i.e. CO32- carbonate ion PO43- phosphate ion
HCO3 hydrogen carbonate ion H2PO4- dihydrogen phosphate ion
-

3. Ionic Compounds
▪ names of ionic compounds are the cation name followed by the anion
name.
i.e. BaBr2 barium bromide
NaCl sodium chloride
Cu(ClO4)2 copper (II) perchlorate or cupric perchlorate

Note: Memorize the symbols and names of cations, anions, and polyatomic ions. Do not limit
yourselves on what is given in the handout.

b) Acids
1. Acids based on anions whose names end in -ide. Anions ending in -ide have
associated acids that have the hydro- prefix and an -ic ending. (binary acids/non-
oxyacids)
i.e. Anion Acid
_____ide hydro_____ic acid
Cl - chloride HCl hydrochloric acid
I - iodide HI hydroiodic acid

2. Acids based on anions whose names end in -ate or -ite. Anions ending in -ate have
associated acids with an -ic ending, whereas anions ending in -ite have associated
acids with an -ous ending. (oxyacids)
i.e. Anion Acid
_____ate _____ic acid
ClO4 perchlorate
- HClO4 perchloric acid
SO4 2- sulfate H2SO4 sulfuric acid

_____ite _____ous acid

ClO2- chlorite HClO2 chlorous acid
SO32- sulfite H2SO3 sulfurous acid

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 c) Bases
Names of bases are the cation name followed by the word hydroxide.
i.e. NaOH sodium hydroxide
LiOH lithium hydroxide
Ca(OH)2 calcium hydroxide

d) Binary Molecular Compounds

1. The name of the element farthest to the left in the periodic table is usually written first.
2. If both elements are in the same group, the lower one is named first.
3. The name of the second element or molecule is given an -ide ending.
4. Greek prefixes are used to indicate the number of the atoms of each element (mono,
di, tri, tetra, so on).
i.e. N2O dinitrogen monoxide NF3 nitrogen trifluoride
Cl2O dichlorine monoxide P4S10 tetraphosphorous decasulfide

EXERCISE PROBLEMS
I. Give the chemical formula for the following compounds
1. potassium peroxide 6. mercury (I) bromide
2. copper (I) oxide 7. chromium (III) carbonate
3. aluminium hydroxide 8. iodic acid
4. zinc nitrate 9. hydroiodic acid
5. iron (III) carbonate 10. magnesium nitride

II. Provide the names for the following.

1. Ca(ClO2)2 6. (NH4)2Cr2O7
2. Cu(NO3)2 7. Zn(H2PO4)2
3. K2CrO4 8. Ba(ClO4)2
4. KMnO4 9. Hg2S
5. Al2(SO4)3 10. AlF3

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 Chemical Reactions
“The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any
reaction, both are transformed.” – Carl Jung

Chemical reactions are the processes by which chemicals interact to form new chemicals with
different compositions. Simply stated, a chemical reaction is the process where reactants are
transformed into products. How chemicals react is dictated by the chemical properties of the
element or compound- the ways in which a compound or element undergoes changes in
composition.

A chemical reaction is typically represented by a chemical equation, which represents the change
from reactants to products. The left-hand side of the equation represents the reactants, while the
right-hand side represents the products. A typical chemical reaction is written with stoichiometric
coefficients, which show the relative amounts of products and reactants involved in the reaction.
Each compound is followed by a parenthetical note of the compound’s state: (l) for liquid, (s) for
solid, (g) for gas. The symbol (aq) is also commonly used in order to represent an aqueous solution,
in which compounds are dissolved in water. A reaction might take the following form:

A(aq) + B(g) → C(s) + D(l)

In the above example, A and B, known as the reactants, reacted to form C and D, the products.
To write an accurate chemical equation, two things must occur:
1. Each product and reactant must be written using its chemical formula, e.g., H2
2. The number of atoms of each element must be equal on both sides of the equation.
Coefficients are used in front of the chemical formulas in order to help balance the number
of atoms, e.g., 2 Mg + O2 → 2 MgO

Types of Chemical Reactions

1. Direct Combination or Synthesis – occurs when two or more substances combine to form a
more complex substance

a. Metal and non-metal to form a binary compound or metallic oxide

2 Mg + O2 → 2 MgO
2 Na + Cl2 → 2 NaCl

b. Non-metal and oxygen to form a non-metallic oxide

S + O2 → SO2
C + O2 → CO2

c. Metallic oxide and water to form a metallic hydroxide (basic anhydride)

MgO + H2O → Mg(OH)2
CaO + H2O → Ca(OH)2

d. Non-metallic oxide and water to form an acid oxide (acid anhydride)

SO3 + H2O → H2SO4
SO2 + H2O → H2SO3

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 e. Metallic oxide and non-metallic oxide to form a salt
MgO + SO3 → MgSO4
Na2O + CO2 → Na2CO3

2. Decomposition or Analysis – breaking down of a substance

a. Heating of metallic carbonates to form carbon dioxide and metal oxides

CaCO3 → CO2 + CaO
Na2CO3 → CO2 + Na2O

b. Electrolysis
2 H2O → 2 H2 + O2
2 NaCl → 2 Na + Cl2

c. Heating of metallic hydroxides to form metal oxides and water

Mg(OH)2 → MgO + H2O
2 LiOH → Li2O + H2O

d. Heating of acids to form non-metallic oxides and water

H2SO4 → SO3 + H2O

e. Heating of metallic oxides to form metals and oxygen

2 HgO → 2 Hg + O2

f. Heating of metallic chlorates to form metallic chlorides and oxygen

2 KClO3 → 2 KCl + 3 O2

3. * Single Displacement – weaker metals will be replaced by active metals

NaOH + Li → LiOH + Na
AgNO3 + K → KNO3 + Ag

4. * Double Displacement – replacement of the cations or substitution of elements or ions

NaNO3 + KOH → KNO3 + NaOH
BaO + MgCl2 → BaCl2 + MgO

5. Neutralization
a. An acid and a base
H2SO4 + 2 NaOH → 2 H2O + Na2SO4

b. Metal oxide and an acid

MgO + 2 HCl → MgCl2 + H2O

c. Non-metal oxide and a base

SO3 + 2 LiOH → Li2SO4 + H2O

d. Basic oxide and an acid oxide

MgO + CO2 → Mg + CO3

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 e. Ammonia and an acid
NH3 + HCl → NH4Cl

* The activity series is a list of elements in decreasing order of their reactivity. Since metals replace
other metals, while non-metals replace other non-metals, they each have a separate activity series.

Activity Series of Non-

Activity Series of Metals
metals
Elements, from Elements, from most to
Reaction
most to least least reactive
Occurring
reactive
Li F2
K Cl2
React with cold
Ba Br2
water, replacing
Sr I2
hydrogen.
Ca
Na
Mg
Al React with steam,
Zn but not cold
Cr water, replacing
Fe hydrogen.
Cd
Co Do not react with
Ni water. React with
Sn acids, replacing
Pb hydrogen.
H2
Cu
Hg
Unreactive with
Ag
water or acids.
Pt
Au

Remember:
1. For a single-replacement reaction, a given element is capable of replacing an element that
is below it in the activity series. This can be used to predict if a reaction will occur.
2. In the descriptions that accompany the activity series of metals, a given metal is also
capable of undergoing the reactions described below that section. For example, lithium will
react with cold water, replacing hydrogen. It will also react with steam and with acids, since
that requires a lower degree of reactivity.

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EXERCISE PROBLEMS
Write the balance equation for the following reactions; give the formulas and classify according to
types.
1. aluminum hydroxide + sodium sulfate 6. barium peroxide + heat
2. magnesium chlorate + heat 7. nitrogen gas + hydrogen gas
3. hydrochloric acid + calcium hydroxide 8. lead carbonate + heat
4. calcium carbide + water 9. ammonia + oxygen
5. potassium nitrate + silver chloride 10. sodium cyanide + sulfuric acid

Use the activity series to predict if the following reactions will occur. If not, write NR. If the reaction
does occur, write the products of the reaction and balance the equation.
1. aluminium + zinc nitrate
2. argentum + hydrochloric acid
3. ferrous chloride + zinc
4. nitric acid + aurum
5. nickel + lead nitrate

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