1. Naming Inorganic Compounds
Section 2.8
Naming Inorganic Compounds

2. Chemical Nomenclature
Naming system of substances
Latin:
Nomen~ name Calare~ to call
Two main categories:
Organic and Inorganic

3. Inorganic Compound Rules
Ionic
Molecular
Acids

4. Ionic Compounds
Cations
Anions
Compounds

5. Ionic Compounds 1. Cations a) Same name as the metal they formed from:
Na+ sodium ion
b) Metals forming different cations: use Roman numerals in parentheses:
Fe2+ iron (II) ion
Fe 3+ iron (III) ion
~ Older method: -ous or –ic ending
Fe2+ ferrous ion Fe3+ ferric ion

6. Ionic Compounds
c) Cations formed from nonmetal atoms have names that end in –ium
NH4+ ammonium ion
H3O+ hydronium ion

7. Ionic Compounds 2. Anions O2- oxide N3- nitride NO3- nitrate
a) Monoatomic anions are formed by replacing ending of name of element with –ide
O2- oxide
N3- nitride
b) Polyatomic anions contain oxygen (oxyanions) end in –ate or –ite
NO3- nitrate
NO2- nitrite

8. Ionic Compounds NO3- nitrate NO2- nitrite ClO4- perchlorate
b) Polyatomic anions contain oxygen (oxyanions) end in –ate or –ite
-ite has one fewer O atoms than an –ate
NO3- nitrate
NO2- nitrite
Prefixes per- and –hypo are used when there are more than four members
ClO4- perchlorate
ClO3- chlorate
ClO2- chlorite
ClO- hypochlorite

9. Ionic Compounds
c) Anions derived from adding H+ to an oxyanion: begin with either hydrogen or dihydrogen
CO32- carbonate
HCO3- hydrogen carbonate
PO43- phosphate
H2PO43- dihydrogen phosphate

10. Ionic Compounds 3. Compounds
Names consist of the cation name followed by the anion name
CaCl2 calcium chloride
AlPO3 aluminum phosphite
CuSO4 copper (II) sulfate

11. Acids
-ides
-ates /-ites

12. Acids
1. With anions ending in –ide: change –ide to –ic, add the prefix hydro-, and follow with the word acid
Anion
Corresponding Acid
Cl- (chloride)
HCl (hydrochloric acid)
S2- (sulfide)
H2S (hydrosulfuric acid

13. Acids 2. With anions ending in –ate or –ite: Change –ate to –ic
Change –ite to –ous
Add the word acid
Anion
Corresponding Acid
ClO4- (perchlorate)
HClO4 (perchloric acid)
ClO3- (chlorate)
HClO3 (chloric acid)
ClO2- (chlorite)
HClO2 (chlorous acid)
ClO- (hypochlorite)
HClO (hypochorous acid)

14. Molecular Compounds (Binary)
1. Name the element farther to the left in the periodic table first.
2. If both in same group, the one with the higher atomic number is named first.
3. Name the second with an –ide ending
4. Greek prefixes are used to indicate number of atoms of each element