1st Semester of A.Y.

2022-2023

PHARM 121:

Pharmaceutical Inorganic Chemistry with

Qualitative Analysis
Title
Chapter 4: Classification, Naming, and Writing formulas of Inorganic Compounds
Introduction
There are numerous inorganic compounds, including ions and other metal-based drugs,
available in the market. As a pharmacist, it is important that you are knowledgeable in
identifying these compounds, how to name and write their formulas especially during drug
discovery.
To understand the concept of classifying, naming, and writing formulas of inorganic
compounds, read through this learning material to acquaint you of the basics.
Presentation of Outcomes
At the end of the chapter, students must be able to:
1. Demonstrate effectively how to classify, name, and write formulas of inorganic
compounds.
Central Activities
LECTURE
GENERAL TERMS:
1. Binary compound – contains 2 different elements (ex. NaCl)
2. Ternary compound – contains 3 different elements (ex. H2SO4)
3. Quaternary compound – contains 4 different elements (ex. NaHCO3)
Seatwork:
a. CO2
b. Al(OH)2
c. KNO3
NUMBER PREFIXES
• Prefixes are often used to denote the number of atoms of an element in a compound
• Ex. CO à Carbon monoxide
Prefixes Prefixes
½ Hemi 6 Hexa
1 Mono 7 Hepta
2 Di 8 Octa
3 Tri 9 Nona
4 Tetra 10 Deca
5 Penta
Examples:
CO2 – carbon dioxide; SO3 – sulfur trioxide

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NAMING METALLIC CATIONS

• Many metallic elements have only 1 possible valence and are named after the given
name of the element
o Ex. Na+1 à sodium ion; Ca+2 à calcium ion
• Other metallic elements may have more than 1 valence, or oxidation states, such as the
transition metals
o Ex. Fe; Cu; Pb…
o 2 methods: by using suffix (classical nomenclature) and by indicating its
oxidation number in Roman numeral (stock nomenclature)

Method 1: Classical Nomenclature (Using suffixes “-ous” and “-ic”)

• -ous indicates lower valence
• -ic indicates higher valence
• Ex: Hg+1 à mercurous ion; Hg+2 à mercuric ion

Method 2: Stock Nomenclature

• Uses the name of the element followed by a Roman numeral indicating the valence
• Ex: Cu+1 à copper (I); Cu+2 à copper (II)

Seatwork: Name the following:

a. Al+3
b. K+1
c. Ba+2
d. Fe+2
e. Fe+3
NAMING ANIONS
• Can be elemental (monoatomic) or radical (polyatomic)
• Monoatomic anions are named by adding the suffix “-ide” to the root of the element’s
name
o Ex: Cl-1 à chloride ion
• The most common type of anionic radicals consists of central atom covalently bonded
to a number of oxygen atoms
o Monovalent anionic radicals (valence = -1) contains 3 oxygen atoms and those
that are greater than 1 normally contains 4 oxygen atoms
o The names for these normal types of radicals are formed from the root for the
name of the central atom and adding the suffix “-ate”
o Ex: ClO3-1 à chlorate; SO4-2 à sulfate
§ Sometimes, a central atom may be bonded to a different number of
oxygen atoms than normal forming a series of radicals
§ When there is 1 less oxygen atom than normal, the suffix “-ite” is used
§ When there is 2 less oxygen atom than normal, the suffix “-ite” is used
together with the prefix “hypo-“
§ When there is 1 more oxygen atom than normal, the prefix “per-“ is used
§ Ex: ClO3-1 à chlorate; ClO2-1 à chlorite; ClO-1 à hypochlorite; ClO4-1 à
perchlorate
§ REMEMBER: there are exceptions but memorize the more common
ones

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Seatwork:
a. IO3-1
b. IO2-1
c. IO4-1
d. PO4-3
e. PO3-3
f. NO3-1
g. CO3-2
• Certain radicals are derived when hydrogen is removed from an acid to form a charge
group of atoms (radical)
o If 1 hydrogen is removed, the radical gets the prefix “bi-“
§ Ex: carbonic acid (H2CO3) à remove 1 H to make HCO3-1 (bicarbonate)
§ Phosphoric acid (H3PO4) à remove 1 H to make H2PO4-1 (biphosphate)
• Several radicals do not follow any of the rules stated above so you must MEMORIZE
their names and formulas
o Examples: hydroxide (OH-1); peroxide (O2-2); thiosulfate (S2O3-2)
• Occasionally, metals with valences higher than +1 will form salts that contain oxides or
hydroxide ions
o When these occur in the middle of the formula, they are called to as either oxy-
or hydroxy-, respectively
o Number prefixes are used to denote the number of them
NAMING SALTS
• SALT à _____________________________________________________
• The salt compound must be electrically neutral (total positive valence = total negative
valence)
• Salts are named by naming the cation first, then the anion
• Ex: CaCl2 à calcium chloride; FeSO4 à to know the charge of Fe, identify first the
charge of the anion, which is -2, therefore, Fe must have the charge of +2, so, FeSO4
must be named as ferrous sulfate (classical) or iron (II) sulfate (stock)
Seatwork:
a. KBr
b. Mg(NO3)2
c. BaSO4
d. BiOCl
e. HgCl2
NAMING BINARY ACIDS
• Composed of only 2 elements, usually Hydrogen and F, Cl, Br, I, and some other anions
• Binary acids are covalent compounds which act as acids only when they are in solution,
especially in water
o When not in solution, naming binary acids is similar to naming salts
o Ex: HCl as a pure gas is named as Hydrogen chloride
• Naming binary acids in solutions uses the prefix “hydro-“, followed by the root name
for the anion, and the suffix “-ic”, followed by the word acid
o Ex: HCl à hydrochloric acid
Seatwork:
a. HBr
b. HI

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c. H2S
d. HF gas
NAMING TERNARY ACIDS
• Ternary acids are typically made of hydrogen ion combined with one of the radicals that
contain oxygen à for this reason, they are often referred to as “oxyacids”
• When naming, the suffixes on the names of the radicals are changed and followed by
the word “acid” to show the presence of the hydrogen
o Radicals ending in “-ate” change their suffix to “-ic”
o Radicals ending in “-ite” change their suffix to “-ous”
o The prefixes, if any, are unchanged
Radical Name of radical Acid Name of acid
-2
SO4 Sulfate H2SO4 Sulfuric acid
SO3-2 Sulfite H2SO3 Sulfurous acid
ClO-1 Hypochlorite HClO Hypochlorous acid

Seatwork:
a. HNO3
b. HNO2
c. HClO4
d. H2CO3
e. H3PO3
NAMING BASES
• The most common bases are those having the OH- (hydroxyl) ion (cation + hydroxyl
radical = base)
• Naming follows the system for naming salts, except that the anion is always hydroxide
o Ex: NaOH à sodium hydroxide; Ca(OH)2 à calcium hydroxide
Seatwork:
a. KOH
b. Mg(OH)2
c. Fe(OH)2
d. Al(OH)3
e. Fe(OH)3

NAMING COVALENT INORGANIC COMPOUNDS

• There are a number of inorganic compounds that are bonded into molecules by
covalent bonds à most of these are the oxides, sulfides, and halides of the
nonmetallic elements
• Generally, these are named by writing the name of the central atom (usually the first
one in the formula) followed by the name of the anion formed by the other element
o Number prefixes are used when necessary to avoid confusion between different
compounds formed by the same elements
o Ex: H2S (gas) à hydrogen sulfide; CO à carbon monoxide; CO2 à carbon
dioxide
• 2 important exceptions: H2O (water) and NH3 (ammonia) à their common names are
firmly established in the nomenclature
o They have the ability to readily accept a proton forming ______ & ______

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Seatwork:
a. SO2
b. SO3
c. CCl4
d. NI3
e. NH4Cl
WATERS OF HYDRATION
• Sometimes, when a substance crystallizes into a solid, molecules of water are included
in the crystal in a fixed ratio (hydrates)
o When weighing or doing calculations based on compounds that have waters of
hydration. The amount of water in the crystals must be taken into consideration
• The waters of hydration are shown by placing a dot (or dash) after the formula of the
compound, followed by the formula of water with a coefficient to indicate the number
of waters of hydration
o Ex: cupric sulfate forms crystals that contain 5 molecules of water for each
molecule of cupric sulfate à CuSO4 · 5H2O
Seatwork:
a. AlCl3·6H2O
b. Mg3(PO4)2·5H2O
c. Na2HPO4·7H2O
d. FeSO4·7H2O
e. Na2CO3·10H2O
Assessment (Post-Assessment)
Online Exam 4
• You are required to take the post-test. The link for the quiz will be posted in the mVLE Quiz
portal.
Accomplish and submit the said quiz: schedule TBA.
Activities Summary:
1. Online Exam
2. Problem-based Learning Tasks / Seatworks
Course Facilitators
REYNALDO B. COLOMA JR., RPh.
Instructor I
Mobile number: +63 915 434 5378
e-mail Address: rbcoloma@mmsu.edu.ph