1. Naming Covalent Compounds

2. 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

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

4. Name the following covalent compounds

5. 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.