NAMING OF COMPOUNDS

SYSTEMATIC/CLASSICAL
COMMON NAME FORMULA
NAME
Baking Soda NaHCO3 Sodium bicarbonate
Washing Soda Na2CO3 ● 10H2O Sodium carbonate decahydrate
Milk of Magnesia Mg(OH)2 Magnesium hydroxide
Lye/Caustic Soda NaOH Sodium hydroxide
Potash K2CO3 Potassium carbonate
Borax Na2B4O7 ● 10H2O Sodium tetraborate decahydrate
Cream of Tartar KHC4H4O6 Potassium hydrogen tartrate
Lime/Quicklime CaO Calcium oxide
Slaked Lime Ca(OH)2 Calcium hydroxide
Table Salt NaCl Sodium chloride
Lead (II) sulfide or
Galena PbS
Plumbous sulfide
Alumina/Bauxite Al2O3 Aluminum oxide
Calcite/Marble/Limestone CaCo3 Calcium carbonate
Epsom Salt MgSO4 ● 7H2O Magnesium sulfate heptahydrate
Gypsum CaSO4 ● 2H2O Calcium sulfate dihydrate
Hypo Na2S2O3 Sodium thiosulfate
Plaster of Paris CaSO4 ● ½H2O Calcium sulfate hemihydrate
Pyrite/Fool’s Gold FeS2 Iron disulfide
Quicksilver Hg Mercury
Salt Peter (Chile) NaNO3 Sodium nitrate
Sal Ammonia NH4Cl Ammonium chloride
Road Salt CaCl2 Calcium chloride
Magnesia MgO Magnesium oxide
Iron (III) oxide or
Rust Fe2O3
Ferric oxide
Water H2O Dihydrogen oxide
Nitrogen trihydride or
Ammonia NH3
Hydrogen nitride
Dry Ice CO2 Carbon dioxide
Laughing Gas N2O Dinitrogen monoxide
Acetylene C2H2 Ethyne
Brimstone S Sulfur
Muriatic Acid HCl Hydrochloric acid
Vinegar HC2H3O2 Acetic acid
Cane/Beet Sugar C12H22O11 Sucrose
* Common names, formulas, and systematic/classical names of some common substances
 NAMING OF BINARY COMPOUNDS

Naming of Binary Covalent Compounds (Oxides, Acids, and others)

A binary covalent compound is composed of two (2) non-metals.

This naming system uses Greek prefixes to tell how many of each kind of atom there are.

1. Write the name of the leftmost element in the chemical formula first.
2. Give the name of the second element an –ide ending.

Examples: HCl – Hydrogen Chloride

HBr – Hydrogen Bromide
SiC – Silicon Carbide
3. Use Greek prefixes to indicate the number of atoms of each element. The prefix mono- is
not used w/ the first element. In prefixes ending in “a” or “o” is often dropped if the name
of the second element begins w/ a vowel (e.g. oxide -> monoxide)

Examples: CO – Carbon Monoxide Element Root Root + -ide

CO2 – Carbon Dioxide 1 – mono- Hydrogen Hydr- Hydride
SO2 – Sulfur Dioxide 2 – di- Oxygen Ox- Oxide
SO3 – Sulfur Trioxide 3 – tri- Phosphorus Phosph- Phosphide
N2O4 – Dinitrogen Tetroxide 4 – tetra- Sulfur Sulf- Sulfide
CCl4 – Carbon Tetrachloride 5 – penta- Nitrogen Nitr- Nitride
P2O5 – Diphosphorus Pentoxide 6 – hexa-
Chlorine Chlor- Chloride
SF4 – Sulfur Tetrafluoride 7 – hepta-
Fluorine Fluor- Fluoride
N2O – Dinitrogen Monoxide 8 – octo-
Bromine Brom- Bromide
S2F10 – Disulfur Decafluoride 9 – nona-
Iodine Iod- Iodide
10 – deca-
Carbon Carb- Carbide

4. Exceptions to the use of Greek prefixes are molecular compounds containing hydrogen.
Traditionally, many of these compounds are called either by their common, non-
systematic names or by names that do not specifically indicate the number of H atoms
present.

Examples: B2H6 – Diborane NH3 – Ammonia H2S – Hydrogen Sulfide

CH4 – Methane PH3 – Phosphine H2O – Water
SiH4 – Silane

Naming Oxides

An oxide is a compound of any element with oxygen.

The use of the prefix mono- usually depends on how many oxides of a particular element
there are and what their numbers are.

Examples: H2O – Dihydrogen Monoxide (water)

H2O2 – Dihydrogen Dioxide (hydrogen peroxide)
 Naming Binary Acids

An acid is a compound of hydrogen with one or more non-metals.

A binary acid is just hydrogen plus one other non-metal/non-hydrogen element.

1. To name a binary acid, place the prefix hydro– in first of, and the suffix –ic after, the stem
of the non-metal name. Then add the word “acid”

Examples: HCl – Hydro-chlor-ic Acid Cl- - chloride

HF – Hydrofluoric Acid F- - fluoride
HBr – Hydrobromic Acid Br- - bromide
HI – Hydroiodic Acid I- - iodide -ide  -ic
HCN – Hydrocyanic Acid CN- - cyanide
S2- - sulfide
H2S – Hydrosulfuric Acid
Se2- - selenide
H2Se – Hydroselenic Acid

 The gas HCl would be called hydrogen chloride while its water solution (acid) would be called
hydrochloric acid.
 HCN (hydrocyanic acid) follows the naming rule even though it’s not a binary acid.

Naming of Binary Ionic Compounds Containing Fixed-Charge Ions

A binary ionic compound is a compound formed from a metal and a non-metal.

The metal forms the positive ion and the non-metal forms the negative ion.
A fixed-charge ion has only one possible charge. Some positive monatomic ions and all
negative monatomic ions have fixed charges.

Element Charge Element Charge Ions Charge

Group IA 1+ Group VIIA 1- NH4 1+
Group IIA 2+ Group VIA 2- OH 1-
Al 3+ H 1- CN 1-
Zn, Cd 2+ N 3-
* These ions whose compounds are named with the rules given
Ag 1+ C 4- here even though their formed compounds are not binary.

* Fixed-charge ions

1. The name of the metal comes first.

2. Followed by the root of the non-metal plus –ide, as in the naming of binary covalent
compounds.
3. We don’t use any Greek prefixes.
4. Ionic compounds must be electrically neutral; that is, the number of positive charges must
exactly balance the number of negative charges.
5. When we write the formula, the metal (or positive ion) always comes first.
Examples: Na+ (group IA) + F- (group VIIA)  NaF (sodium fluoride)
NH4+ + Cl- (group VIIA)  NH4Cl (ammonium chloride)
Ca2+ (group IIA) + F- (group VIIA)  CaF2 (calcium fluoride)
* since both monatomic ions have different charges from each other, exchange both charges to
become the subscript number of the other in the final formula compound

K+ (group IA) + CN-  KCN (potassium cyanide)

Al3+ + O2- (group VIA)  Al2O3 (aluminum oxide)

Naming of Binary Ionic Compounds from Variable-Charge Ions

Variable-charge ions are ions that may have several possible charges.
Usually, the transition metals form variable ions.
FORMULA VARIABLE-CHARGE ION CLASSICAL SYSTEM NAME
Fe2+ Iron (II) Ion Ferrous
Fe3+ Iron (III) Ion Ferric
Cr2+ Chromium (II) Ion Chromous
Cr3+ Chromium (III) Ion Chromic
Cr6+ Chromium (VI) Ion -
Mn2+ Manganese (II) Ion Manganous
Mn3+ Manganese (III) Ion Manganic
Mn4+ Manganese (IV) Ion -
Mn7+ Manganese (VII) Ion -
Cu+ Copper (I) Ion Cuprous
Cu2+ Copper (II) Ion Cupric
Sn2+ Tin (II) Ion Stannous
Sn4+ Tin (IV) Ion Stannic
Pb2+ Lead (II) Ion Plumbous
Pb4+ Lead (IV) Ion Plumbic
Hg22+ Mercury (I) Ion -
Hg2+ Mercury (II) Ion -
Au+ Gold (I) Ion Aurous
Au3+ Gold (III) Ion Auric
V2+ Vanadium (II) Ion Vanadous
V3+ Vanadium (III) Ion Vanadic
Co2+ Cobalt (II) Ion Cobaltous
Co3+ Cobalt (III) Ion Cobaltic
Ni2+ Nickel (II) Ion Nickelous
Ni3+ Nickel (III) Ion Nickelic
Sb3+ Antimony (III) Ion Stibous
Sb5+ Antimony (V) Ion Stibic
Ti3+ Titanium (III) Ion Titanous
Ti4+ Titanium (IV) Ion Titanic
As3+ Arsenic (III) Ion -
As5+ Arsenic (V) Ion -
Bi3+ Bismuth (III) Ion -
Bi5+ Bismuth (V) Ion -
Pt2+ Platinum (II) Ion -
Pt4+ Platinum (IV) Ion -
* Names and formulas of variable-charge ions
* The root of the metal’s name is used, sometimes the root of its Latin name if it has one. The suffix –ic is added to the root
if the ion has a higher charge; the suffic –ous is added for the lower charge.

Examples: FeO  Iron (II) Oxide or Ferrous Oxide Fe2O3  Iron (III) Oxide or Ferric Oxide
Cu2S  Copper (I) Sulfide or Cuprous Sulfide CuS  Copper (II) Sulfide or Cupric Sulfide
*(Cu+ + S2+ (group VIA)  Cu2S) *(Cu2+ + S2+ (group VIA)  CuS)
 NAMING OF TERNARY COMPOUNDS

Naming of Ternary Ionic Compounds (Hydroxides and Salts)

Ternary compounds have two parts: a positive part and a negative part.
When the positive part is a metal or ammonium ion (NH 4+), we have a ternary ionic
compound.

Naming Metal Hydroxide

- A metal hydroxide is a compound consisting of a metal with hydroxide ion (OH -)
- The metal is named first then followed by “hydroxide”

Examples: Ca2+ + OH-  Ca(OH)2 or Calcium hydroxide

Fe3+ + OH-  Fe(OH)3 or Iron (III) hydroxide or Ferric hydroxide

Naming Ternary Salt

- A ternary salt is a compound of a positive ion/metal (or ammonium ion - NH4+) and any
negative polyatomic ion except hydroxide ion (OH-)
- The positive ion/metal (or ammonium ion - NH4+) is named first then followed by the
negative polyatomic ion.

Name of Compound
Positive Ion Negative Ion Salt
Formed
Mercury (I) Ion - Hg22+ Chloride Ion - Cl- Hg2Cl2 Mercury (I) chloride
Ammonium Ion - NH4+ Sulfide Ion – S2- (NH4)2S Ammonium sulfide
Sodium Ion – Na+ Acetate Ion - C2H3O2- NaC2H3O2 Sodium acetate
Nickel (II) – Ni2+ Carbonate Ion - CO32- NiCO3 Nickel (II) carbonate
Lithium Ion – Li+ Nitrite Ion – NO2- LiNO2 Lithium nitrite
Copper (II) nitrate or
Copper (II) – Cu2+ Nitrate Ion – NO3- Cu(NO3)2
Cupric nitrate
Silver Ion – Ag+ Sulfite Ion – SO32- Ag2SO3 Silver sulfite
Chromium (III) sulfate or
Chromium (III) – Cr3+ Sulfate Ion – SO42- Cr(SO4)3
Chromic sulfate
Potassium Ion – K+ Phosphite Ion – PO33- K3PO3 Potassium phosphite
Iron (III) phosphate or
Iron (III) – Fe3+ Phosphate Ion – PO43- FePO4
Ferric phosphate
Calcium Ion – Ca2+ Hypochlorite Ion – ClO- Ca(ClO)2 Calcium hypochlorite
Zinc Ion – Zn2+ Chlorite Ion – ClO2- Zn(ClO2)2 Zinc chlorite
Potassium Ion – K+ Chlorate Ion – ClO3- KClO3 Potassium chlorate
Ammonium Ion - NH4+ Perchlorate Ion – ClO4- NH4ClO4 Ammonium perchlorate
Permanganate Ion – Potassium
Potassium Ion – K+ KMnO4
MnO4- permanganate
Lead (II) chromate or
Lead (II) – Pb2+ Chromate Ion – CrO42- PbCrO4
Plumbous chromate
Sodium Ion – Na+ Dichromate Ion – Cr2O72- Na2Cr2O7 Sodium dichromate
Sodium Ion – Na+ Borate Ion – BO33- Na3BO3 Sodium borate
Sodium Ion – Na+ Peroxide Ion – O22- Na2O2 Sodium peroxide
Magnesium Ion – Mg2+ Cyanide Ion – CN- Mg(CN)2 Magnesium cyanide
*some polyatomic ions with examples of their salts
**the –ate ion has one more oxygen than the –ite ion
***the series of ions containing Cl has more than two possibilities: adding the prefixes hypo- (one less oxygen than the –ite ion) and per-
(one more oxygen than the –ate ion)
Naming of Ternary Covalent Compounds (Oxyacids)

Ternary covalent compounds contain three or more non-metals.

When the positive part of a ternary compound is hydrogen and the negative part is an
oxygen-containing polyatomic ion, we have an oxyacid.

The formula of an oxyacid is achieved by taking a corresponding polyatomic ion, putting

as many hydrogens in front of it as the ion has negative charges, and dropping the charge.
For example, the oxyacid corresponding to the sulfate ion (SO 42-) is H2SO4; the oxyacid
corresponding to the phosphate ion (PO43-) is H3PO4.

If the ion’s name ends in –ate, its corresponding oxyacid is named by dropping the –ate
and adding –ic acid. Example, CO32- is carbonate therefore H2CO3 is carbonic acid. If the
ion’s name ends with –ite, the oxyacid ends with –ous acid. Example, ClO- is hypochlorite
then HClO is hypochlorous acid.

Ion Oxyacid Formula Name

Acetate Ion - C2H3O2- HC2H3O2 Acetic Acid
Carbonate Ion - CO32- H2CO3 Carbonic Acid
Nitrite Ion – NO2- HNO2 Nitrous Acid
Nitrate Ion – NO3- HNO3 Nitric Acid
Sulfite Ion – SO32- H2SO3 Sulfurous Acid
Sulfate Ion – SO42- H2SO4 Sulfuric Acid
Phosphite Ion – PO33- H3PO3 Phosphorous Acid
Phosphate Ion – PO43- H3PO4 Phosphoric Acid
Hypochlorite Ion – ClO- HClO Hypochlorous Acid
Chlorite Ion – ClO2- HClO2 Chlorous Acid
Chlorate Ion – ClO3- HClO3 Chloric Acid
Perchlorate Ion – ClO4- HClO4 Perchloric Acid
Borate Ion – BO33- H3BO3 Boric Acid
*some common oxyacids
 NAMING COMPOUNDS WITH MORE THAN THREE ELEMENTS

Oxyacid H2SO4 can be made by combining sulfate (SO42-) ion with two (2) hydrogens.
Also, making ternary salt Na2SO4 is possible by combining sulfate (SO42-) ion with two (2) sodium
ions (Na+). It is also feasible to combine SO42- with 1 Na+, and 1 hydrogen to get NaHSO4.

1. Name the metal ion;

2. Then hydrogen or another metal ion;
3. Lastly, the negative ion

Therefore, the name of the compound NaHSO4 is Sodium hydrogen sulfate.

Another possibility is to combine both Na+ and K+ with SO42- to get NaKSO4 (Sodium
potassium sulfate). In short, we can have any combination of metal ions or hydrogen that adds
up to the charge on the negative ion.

Hydrogen + Metal/Positive Ion Mixed Compound Mixed Compound

Negative Ion Formula Name
Hydrogen carbonate Sodium Ion – Na+ NaHCO3 Sodium hydrogen
ion –HCO3- carbonate
Hydrogen sulfate ion Potassium Ion – K+ KHSO4 Potassium hydrogen
– HSO4- sulfate
Hydrogen sulfite ion – Calcium Ion – Ca2+ Ca(HSO3)2 Calcium hydrogen
HSO3- sulfite
*some examples of mixed compounds

NAMING HYDRATES

Hydrates are ionic compounds that have water molecules in their crystal structures.
A dot “●” or an “x” is used to show water of hydration which is a fixed amount in certain
compounds.

Example: 1. Copper (II) sulfate or Cupric sulfate forms a hydrate that has this formula:

CuSO4 ● 5 H2O or CuSO4 x 5 H2O

This is named Copper (II) Sulfate Pentahydrate (using the Greek prefixes in to
show how many water molecules there are) or Copper (II) Sulfate 5-hydrate.

2. Plaster of Paris or Calcium Sulfate Dihydrate or Calcium Sulfate 2-hydrate

CaSO4 ● 2 H2O or SO4 x 2 H2O