Naming Chemicals

AP Chemistry
Classes of Chemicals
Elements
Ionic Compounds
Covalent Compounds
Organic Compounds
Elements
All elements on the periodic table
All just one word: iron, sodium, neon, etc.
All neutrally charged
Mostly monatomic: Fe, Na, Ne
Some diatomic: H
2
O
2
N
2
Cl
2
Br
2
I
2
F
2

Some polyatomic: S
8
, P
4

Gold
Ionic Compounds
Made of one metal positive ion (cation) and
one non-metal negative ion (anion)
Always two words starting with the cation
and ending with the anion
Cation is same name as element
Anion always has a different suffix

Sodium
chloride
Anion Suffixes
Monatomic atoms end with ide
Oxygen atom = O
Oxide ion = O
-2

Sulfur atom = S
Sulfide ion = S
-2

Chlorine atom = Cl
Chloride ion = Cl
-1

Oxy-Anions
Oxy-anions end in ate
Sulfate = SO
4
-2
Chlorate = ClO
3
-1

Chromate = CrO
4
-2
Nitrate = NO
3
-1


If the anion is further oxidized then add the
prefix per-
ClO
3
-1
= chlorate ClO
4
-1
= perchlorate
Less Oxidation
If the anion is less oxidized by 1 then
change the ate suffix to an ite suffix
SO
4
-2
= sulfate SO
3
-2
= sulfite
ClO
3
-1
= chlorate ClO
2
-1
= chlorite
If the anion is less oxidized again then add
the prefix hypo-
ClO
-1
= hypochlorite SO
2
-2
= hyposulfite
Summary
Per- -ate -ate -ite Hypo- -ite
Chlor-
ClO
4
-1

Perchlorate
ClO
3
-1

chlorate
ClO
2
-1

chlorite
ClO
-1

hypochlorite
Sulf-
SO
4
-2

sulfate
SO
3
-2

Sulfite
SO
2
-2

Hyposulfite
Nitr-
NO
3
-1

Nitrate
NO
2
-1

Nitrite
Phos-
PO
4
-3

Phosphate
PO
3
-3

Phosphite
Sulfur Replacement
If one of the oxygens in an oxy-anion is
replaced with a sulfur then add the prefix
thio-
SO
4
-2
= sulfate S
2
O
3
-2
= thiosulfate
SO
3
-2
= sulfite S
2
O
2
-2
= thiosulfite
CNO
-1
= cyanate CNS
-1
= thiocyanate
Anion Summary
Mon-atomic anions end in ide
Oxy-anions end in ate or ite
Add prefixes per- and hypo- when
necessary
Add thio- prefix when a sulfur replaces and
oxygen
Combining Ions
Ionic compounds are always neutrally charged so the number
of each ion within the compound is fixed
Sodium oxide:
Na
+1
O
-2

Since the compound must be
neutral we need another positive
charge
Na
+1

Now we have two sodium atoms
to balance out the oxide so the
final formula is:
Na
2
O

Parenthesis
Use parenthesis for multiple polyatomic
ions
Aluminum chromate
Al
+3
CrO
4
-2

Al
2
(CrO
4
)
3

Be careful of Hydroxides!
Calcium hydroxide
Ca
+2
OH
-1

Ca(OH)
2

CaOH
2

Transition Metals
Transition Metals
Transition Metals often have more than one
charge
Examples: Fe
+2
and Fe
+3
This makes a difference in formulae:
Iron chloride could be:
FeCl
2
or FeCl
3


So what do we do?
Since FeCl
2
and FeCl
3
are obviously not the same
compound, they cant both have the same name.
We differentiate them by using a Roman Numeral
to indicate the charge on the transition metal
Fe
+2
and Cl
-1
FeCl
2
= iron (II) chloride
Fe
+3
and Cl
-1
FeCl
3
= iron (III) chloride
Be sure to note that the roman numeral indicates
charge and not number.
Quick practice
Sodium bromide NaBr
Calcium oxide CaO
Aluminum nitrate Al(NO
3
)
3

Ammonium phosphate (NH
4
)
3
PO
4

Barium hydroxide Ba(OH)
2

Copper (I) sulfide Cu
2
S
Copper (II) sulfate CuSO
4

Iron (III) dichromate Fe
2
(Cr
2
O
7
)
3

More practice
Potassium hypochlorite KClO
Sodium sulfite Na
2
SO
3

Aluminum bromate Al(BrO
3
)
3

Ammonium phosphite (NH
4
)
3
PO
3

Magnesium nitrite Mg(NO
2
)
2

Iron (III) perchlorate Fe(ClO
4
)
3

Strontium cyanate Sr(CNO)
2

Copper (I) thiosulfate Cu
2
S
2
O
3

Covalent Compounds
Comprised of two or more non-metals
covalently bonded
Start with less electronegative and end with
more electronegative
Name as normal except that all compounds
change the second element to an ide
ending

Covalent Examples
CO = carbon oxide
CS
2
= carbon sulfide
NF
3
= nitrogen fluoride

Notice in each example the more
electronegative atom is second and ends in
-ide
Problem
Covalent compounds can combine in
multiple proportions- that is there can be
more than one ratio of atoms in a compound
CO vs. CO
2

They cant both be carbon oxide
NO
2
vs. N
2
O
4

They cant both be nitrogen oxide
Solution?
Use prefixes to indicate the number of
covalently bonded atoms present in the
molecule

CO vs. CO
2

Carbon monoxide Carbon dioxide
Prefixes
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Mono-
Di-
Tri-
Tetra-
Hexa-
Penta-
Hepta-
Octa-
Nona-
Deca-
Overall Covalent Rules
Comprised of two or more non-metals covalently
bonded
Start with less electronegative and end with more
electronegative
Name as normal except that all compounds change
the second element to an ide ending
Add a prefix to indicate number of atoms in the
compound
The second atom ALWAYS gets a prefix
The first atom can ignore MONO-
Practice
CO Carbon monoxide
N
2
O
5
Dinitrogen pentoxide
PCl
5

Phosphorus pentachloride
SO
3
Sulfur trioxide
N
2
O Dinitrogen monoxide