Not good at naming ions? No worries! With these few simple tricks you will be a pro shortly!
Step 1: Determine whether the compound is ionic or covalent.
Step 1: Determine whether the compound is ionic or covalent.
- An ionic compound will have one non-metal element and one metal element
- Ex: NaCl (Sodium is a metal and Chloride is a non-metal)
- A covalent compound (often referred to as molecular) has two non-metal elements
- Ex: CO (Carbon and Oxygen are both non-metals)
Step 2: Ionic compounds must have a net charge of 0.
- Using the periodic table, determine the charge of each ion.
- Ex: Alkali metals (Lithium, Potassium) have a +1 charge. Alkaline earth metals (Magnesium, Calcium) have a +2 charge.
- For NaCl we know that Na has a +1 charge and Cl has a -1 charge.
- Determine whether or not a roman numeral must be used.
- Ex: Fe (Iron) has a +2 and +3 charge, which is important to note when used in a compound.
- Determine if multiples of an ion or element are required to balance out the net charge.
- Ex: (Li)3PO4 means that the Lithium ion must be multiplied by three to balance the Phosphates -3 charge. In the case of Potassium permanganate, the charges balance out (a +1 and a -1) so no multiplication is needed.
- Determine the charges of each ion
- Ex: ClF (Chlorine has a -1 charge and Fluorine has a -1 charge)
- Based on the molecular formula, name the molecule based of the number of elements.
- Ex: Cl2O would be named Dichlorine monoxide, di- for two chlorines and mono- for one oxygen. N2O5 would be named Dinitrogen pentoxide, di- for two nitrogens and penta- for five oxygens.
Numerical Prefixes
mono: 1
di: 2
tri: 3
tetra: 4
penta: 5
hexa: 6
hepta: 7
octa: 8
nona: 9
deca: 10
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