Naming Covalent Compounds

Using Prefixes with Covalent Compounds Covalent compounds can be made up of the same elements but in different ratios. For example: Nitrogen oxides can come in different forms: NO NO2 NO3 In order to distinguish between them prefixes are used in their names 1 – mono 2 – di 3 – tri 4 – tetra 5 – penta 6 – hexa 7 – hepta 8 - octa

Examples The covalent molecule, NO2 would be called: Nitrogen dioxide Nitrogen trioxide

Name the following covalent compounds

Special Conditions If only one atom is present, the mono is often dropped from the name. If the second atom begins with a vowel, the vowel at the end of the prefix is usually dropped. Examples: SO is called sulfur oxide instead of sulfer monoxide. CO4 would be called carbon tetroxide instead of carbon tetraoxide.