Chemistry: Atoms First

Julia Burdge & Jason Overby

Naming Ionic and

Covalent Compounds

Kent L. McCorkle
Cosumnes River College
Sacramento, CA

Copyright (c) The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
 Naming Compounds
1. Binary Compounds
A. Ionic Compounds
B. Covalent Compounds
2. Polyatomic Compounds
A. Ionic Compounds
B. Covalent Compounds
 5.4 Naming Ions and Ionic Compounds

A monatomic ion is named by changing the ending of the

element’s name to –ide.

Cl– is chloride O2– is oxide

Some metals can form cations of more than one possible charge.

Fe2+ : ferrous ion [Fe(II)]

Fe3+ : ferric ion [Fe(III)]

Mn2+ : manganese(II) ion

Mn3+ : manganese(III) ion
Mn4+ : manganese(IV) ion
Naming Ions and Ionic Compounds
Naming Ions and Ionic Compounds

To name ionic compounds:

1) Name the cation

omit the word ion
use a Roman numeral if the cation can have more than one
charge

2) Name the anion

omit the word ion

Examples:
NaCN sodium cyanide
FeCl2 iron(II) chloride
FeCl3 iron(III) chloride
 5.7 Covalent Bonding in Ionic Species

Polyatomic ions consist of a combination of two or more atoms.

Formulas are determined following the same rule as for ionic

compounds containing only monatomic ions: ions must combine in
a ratio that give a neutral formula overall.

Calcium phosphate:
Ca2+ PO43–

Ca3(PO4)2

Sum of charges: 3(+2) + 2(–3) = 0

Covalent Bonding in Ionic Species
Covalent Bonding in Ionic Species
Worked Example 5.9
Name the following ionic compounds: (a) Fe2(SO4)3, (b) Al(OH)3, and (c) Hg2O.

Strategy Begin by identifying the cation and anion in each compound, and then
combine the names for each, eliminating the word ion.

Solution (a) Fe2(SO4)3 is iron(III) sulfate.

(b) Al(OH)3 is aluminum hydroxide.

(c) Hg2O is mercury(I) oxide.

Think About It Be careful not to confuse the subscript in the formula with the
charge in the metal ion. In part (a), for example, the subscript on Fe is 2, but this
is an iron(III) compound.
Covalent Bonding in Ionic Species

Oxoanions are polyatomic anions that contain one or more oxygen

atoms and one atom (the “central atom”) of another element.

Starting with the oxoanions that end in –ate, we can name these
ions as follows:
1)The ion with one more O atom than the –ate ion is called the
per…ate ion. Thus, ClO3- is the chlorate ion, so ClO4- is the
perchlorate ion.
2)The ion with one less O atom than the –ate ion is called the –ite
ion. Thus, ClO2- is the chlorite ion.
3)The ion with two fewer O atom than the –ate ion is called the
hypo…ite ion. Thus, ClO- is the hypochlorite ion.

At minimum, memorize the oxoanions that end in –ate so you can

apply these guidelines when necessary.
Covalent Bonding in Ionic Species

perchlorate ClO4-
chlorate ClO3-
chlorite ClO2-
hypochlorite ClO-

nitrate NO3-
nitrite NO2-
phosphate PO43-
phosphite PO33-
sulfate SO42-
sulfite SO32-
Worked Example 5.10
Name the following species: (a) BrO4-, (b) HCO3-, and (c) H2CO3.
Strategy Each species is either an oxoanion or an oxoacid. Identify the
“reference oxidation” (the one with the –ate ending) for each, and apply the rules
to determine appropriate names.

SolutionThink (a)About It Remembering

BrO4- has one more O atom all these
than thenames and formulas
bromate ion (BrOis
3 ), so BrO4
- -

greatly facilitated
is the perbromate ion. by memorizing the common ions that end in –ate.
chlorate ClO3- nitrate
(b) CO32- is the carbonateNO ion.
3 Because HCO 3 has one ionizable hydrogen atom,
- -

iodate carbonate
it is called the hydrogen IOion.
3
-

carbonate CO32-
(c) With two ionizable
bromatehydrogen atoms
BrO3- and no charge on theoxalate compound, H 2CO3
is carbonic acid. C2O42-
Think About It Make sure that SO
sulfate the charges
2- sum to zero in chromate
each compound
4
formula. In part (a), for example,
CrO4 2- Hg 2+
+ 2Cl -
= (+2) + 2(-1) = 0; in part (b),
(+2) + 2(-1) = 0; and in part (c), 3(+1)3- + (-3) = 0.
phosphate PO4 permanganate
MnO4-
Worked Example 5.11
Determine the formula of sulfurous acid.

Strategy The –ous ending in the name of an acid indicates that the acid is
derived from an oxoanion ending in –ite. The oxoanion must be sulfite, SO32-, so
add enough hydrogen ions to make a neutral formula.

Solution The formula of sulfurous acid is H2SO3.

Think About It Remembering all these names and formulas is greatly

facilitated by memorizing the common ions that end in -ate.
Familiar Inorganic Compounds
Covalent Bonding and Molecules

Molecular substances can also be represented using empirical

formulas, the whole-number ratio of elements.

While, the molecular formulas tell us the actual number of atoms (the
true formula), the empirical formula gives the simplest formula.

Molecular formula: N2H4

Empirical formula: NH2

The molecular and empirical formulas are often the same.

Covalent Bonding and Molecules
 5.6 Naming Molecular Compounds

Remember that binary molecular compounds are substances that

consist of just two different elements.

Nomenclature:
1) Name the first element that appears in the formula.

2) Name the second element that appears in the formula,

changing its ending to –ide.

Examples:
HCl hydrogen chloride

HI hydrogen iodide
Naming Molecular Compounds

Greek prefixes are used to denote the number of atoms of each

element present.
Naming Molecular Compounds

The prefix mono- is generally omitted for the first element.

For ease of pronunciation, we usually eliminate the last letter of a

prefix that ends in “o” or “a” when naming an oxide.

Example: N2O5 is dinitrogen pentoxide not dinitrogen

pentaoxide
Worked Example 5.7
Name the following binary molecular compounds: (a) NF3 and (b) N2O4.

Strategy Each compound will be named using the systematic nomenclature

including, where necessary, appropriate Greek prefixes.

Solution (a) nitrogen trifluoride

(b) dinitrogen tetroxide

Think About It Make sure that the prefixes match the subscripts in the
molecular formulas and that the word oxide is not preceded immediately by an
“a” or an “o”.
Compounds Containing Hydrogen

A compound must contain at least one ionizable hydrogen atom to

be an acid upon dissolving.
A molecule is an aggregate of two or more atoms in a
definite arrangement held together by chemical bonds

H2 H2O NH3 CH4

A diatomic molecule contains only two atoms

H2, N2, O2, Br2, HCl, CO

A polyatomic molecule contains more than two atoms

O3, H2O, NH3, CH4
A monatomic ion contains only one atom
Na+, Cl-, Ca2+, O2-, Al3+, N3-

A polyatomic ion contains more than one atom

OH-, CN-, NH4+, NO3-
A molecular formula shows the exact number of
atoms of each element in the smallest unit of a
substance

An empirical formula shows the simplest

whole-number ratio of the atoms in a substance

molecular empirical
H2O H2O
C6H12O6 CH2O

O3 O
N2H4 NH2
ionic compounds consist of a combination of cations
and an anions
• the formula is always the same as the empirical formula
• the sum of the charges on the cation(s) and anion(s) in each
formula unit must equal zero
The ionic compound NaCl
Formula of Ionic Compounds
2 x +3 = +6 3 x -2 = -6

Al2O3
Al3+ O2-

1 x +2 = +2 2 x -1 = -2

CaBr2
Ca2+ Br-

1 x +2 = +2 1 x -2 = -2

Na2CO3
Na+ CO32-
 M
Ion Name (common name) Ion Name (Common name)
NH4+ Ammonium CO32- Carbonate
H3O+ Hydronium HCO3- Hydrogen carbonate (bicarbonate)
U
OH- Hydroxide SO32- Sulfite
CN- Cyanide HSO3- Hydrogen sulfite S
NO2- Nitrite SO42- Sulfate
NO3- Nitrate
Hypochlorite (often written
HSO4- Hydrogen sulfate
T
ClO -
SCN -
Thiocyanate
OCl-)
ClO2- Chlorite S2O32- Thiosulfate
ClO3- Chlorate CrO42- Chromate
K
ClO4- Perchlorate Cr2O72- Dichromate
MnO4- Permanganate PO43- Phosphate N
CH3CO2- Acetate (can be written HPO42- Hydrogen phosphate
C2H3O2-)

C2O42- Oxalate H2PO4- Dihydrogen phospate

O

W
 Chemical Nomenclature
• Ionic Compounds
– often a metal + nonmetal
– anion (nonmetal), add “ide” to element name

BaCl2 barium chloride

K2O potassium oxide
Mg(OH)2 magnesium hydroxide

KNO3 potassium nitrate

 Cations of Variable Charge

Transition metals such as copper may form cations

Of different charge. This is represented by placing a
Roman numeral after the transition metal in
Parentheses after the name of the metal.

CuO Copper(II) oxide

Cu2O Copper(I) oxide
 • Transition metal ionic compounds
– indicate charge on metal with Roman numerals

FeCl2 2 Cl- -2 so Fe is +2 iron(II) chloride

FeCl3 3 Cl- -3 so Fe is +3 iron(III) chloride

Cr2S3 3 S-2 -6 so Cr is +3 (6/2) chromium(III) sulfide

• Molecular compounds
• nonmetals or nonmetals + metalloids
• common names
• H2O, NH3, CH4, C60
• element further left in periodic table
is 1st
• element closest to bottom of group is
1st
• if more than one compound can be
formed from the same elements, use
prefixes to indicate number of each
kind of atom
• last element ends in ide
 Molecular Compounds

HI hydrogen iodide

NF3 nitrogen trifluoride

SO2 sulfur dioxide

N2Cl4 dinitrogen tetrachloride

NO2 nitrogen dioxide TOXIC!

N2O dinitrogen monoxide Laughing Gas

An acid can be defined as a substance that yields
hydrogen ions (H+) when dissolved in water.
HCl
•Pure substance, hydrogen chloride
•Dissolved in water (H+ Cl-), hydrochloric acid

An oxoacid is an acid that contains hydrogen,

oxygen, and another element.

HNO3 nitric acid

H2CO3 carbonic acid
H2SO4 sulfuric acid
HNO3
A base can be defined as a substance that yields
hydroxide ions (OH-) when dissolved in water.

NaOH sodium hydroxide

KOH potassium hydroxide
Ba(OH)2 barium hydroxide