Writing and

Naming Covalent
Compounds
Valencia, Panganiban, Macalintal
 At the end of the
lesson, you should
be able to:
• Name binary covalent compounds
when given the chemical formula,
and vice versa.
Naming Covalent Compounds
1. Elements with a lower group
number will be written first in
the name, and followed by the
element with a higher group
number, appended with the
suffix —ide.
F fluoride
Cl chloride
Br bromide
I iodide
O oxide
S sulfide
N nitride
P phospide
Naming Covalent Compounds
2. When a covalent compound
consists of oxygen and a halogen,
the halogen (Group 17) is named
first, and then followed by an
oxide (Group 16). This is an
exception for rule 1.
Naming Covalent Compounds
3. To indicate the number of atoms
of an element in a covalent
compound, Greek numerical
prefixes are added to the name of
the element.
Number Prefix
1 mono–
2 di–
3 tri–
4 tetra–
5 penta–
6 hexa–
7 hepta–
8 octa–
9 nona–
10 deca–
Naming Covalent Compounds
4. If two elements in a covalent
compound belong to the same
group, the element belonging to
the lower period number is first
written in the name.
Naming Covalent Compounds
5. Some common substances, like
water (H2O) or ammonia (NH3),
are called by their common names
in scientific literature rather than
their IUPAC names.
Write the chemical name
for the covalent
compound SF6.
 Write the chemical name for the covalent
compound SF6.
Step 1: Name the first nonmetal. Retain its
name.

The name of the first nonmetal is sulfur. It is

more metallic than the second nonmetal.
 Write the chemical name for the covalent
compound SF6.
Step 2: Name the second metal ending in
—ide.

The name of the second nonmetal is

fluoride.
 Write the chemical name for the covalent
compound SF6.
Step 3: Use Greek prefixes to indicate number of
atoms. Follow the rules presented above on how
to use Greek prefixes.
There is one sulfur atom and six fluorine atoms.
The prefix mono— is not usually used for first
nonmetals. The prefix hexa— should be used to
represent the number of fluorine atoms.
Therefore, the chemical name for the covalent
compound SF6 is sulfur hexafluoride.
 Write the chemical
formula for the covalent
compound, sulfur
trioxide.
 Write the chemical formula for the
covalent compound, sulfur trioxide.
Step 1: Identify the chemical symbol of the two
nonmetals.

The order by which they are written should follow

the order on which they will appear in the
chemical formula.

The chemical symbol of the first nonmetal is S.

The chemical symbol for the second nonmetal is O.
 Write the chemical formula for the
covalent compound, sulfur trioxide.
Step 2: Use numeral subscripts to indicate Greek
prefixes used in the formula.

The prefix tri— indicates that there are three

oxygen atoms.Therefore, the chemical formula for
the covalent compound sulfur trioxide is SO3.
 Things to remember:
Covalent compound names consist of at least two
elements. Naming covalent compounds follow the
following rules:
• Elements with a lower group number will be written
first in the name, and followed by the element with a
higher group number, appended with the suffix -ide.
• When a covalent compound consists of oxygen and a
halogen, however, the halogen (Group 17) is named
 Provide the name or the formula of
the following compounds:
1. P

2. hydrogen fluoride
3. disulfur decabromide
 The name of a covalent compound is
based on the position of the constituent
elements in the periodic table. If a
covalent compound consists of the same
element, how would you name your
compound?
THANK YOU!
Valencia, Panganiban, Macalintal