Rules for Naming Acids and Bases Foothill Chemistry

pH – The Determinant of Acid / Base pH is a measurement of the number of hydrogen ions that will dissociate if the compound is dissolved in water. The higher the number of hydrogen ions, the lower the pH number - log (concentration of hydrogen ions)

How Do We Name Basic Compounds? Bases are named the same way that any ionic compound is named. Because the compounds have a balanced charge, like ionic compounds, there is no need for the prefixes to show how many of each ion is in the compound Ca3(PO4)2 - Calcium Phosphate KOH – Potassium Hydroxide

How Do We Name Acids? Acids contain Hydrogen as the first Chemical symbol. Names are based on the anions associated with the acid. Binary acids (two elements) Ternary acids (three elements) – Sometimes called oxyacids Contain hydrogen, oxygen, and a third element (usually nonmetal)

Binary Acids HBr (H+ and Br-) – hydrogen and bromide HCl (H+ and Cl-) - hydrogen and chloride HI (H+ and I-) - hydrogen and iodide These acids have ions ending in –ide. The name is made based on the ion. Acid name hydro-(stem name)-ic acid HBr – hydrobromic acid HCl – hydrochloric acid HI – hydroiodic acid

Ternary Acids - (Oxyacids) If the name of the ion ends in – ite, the acid will be named (stem name) – ous acid. If the name of the ion ends in –ate, the acid will be named (stem name) – ic acid. HNO3 (H+ and NO3-) – hydrogen and nitrate Nitric acid H2SO3 (H+ and SO32-) hydrogen and sulfite Sulfurous acid

Retained Hydrogens H2CO3 – Carbonic acid HCO3- – bicarbonate and H+ - hydrogen