UNIT IV
Naming Inorganic Compounds
Lesson 1
INORGANIC NOMENCLATURE




Nomenclature refers to ‘naming’
Inorganic = Non Carbon compounds &
Elements.
Organic chemistry= study of carbon
compounds.
The periodic table organizes the elements by
vertical columns (___________) and horizontal
rows (______________).
The elements are arranged depending on the
chemical and physical properties of elements in
repeated patterns and increasing atomic masses.
IV.1 THE CHEMICAL ELEMENTS

Element symbol: The first letter is always in
upper case and the second letter (if present) is
always lower case.
Ex: Sodium (Na), Nitrogen (N)
3 Major classifications: pg. 67
Non-Metals
Metals
Metalloids or
Semi Metals
Clustered
elements around
the “staircase”
between metals
and non-metals.
PERIODIC TABLE
http://www.colgurchemistry.com/2008PeriodicTable
.pdf
IV.2 NAMING INORGANIC
COMPOUNDS

METALS:
Found on left side in periodic table
 Form _________ ions

Cation: an ion with a positive charge

NON-METALS:
Found on right side in periodic table
 form __________ ions
(H is generally an exception)
Anion: an ion with a negative charge

NAMING INORGANIC COMPOUNDS
Some other definitions

Monoatomic

Diatomic

Triatomic

Polyatomic
NAMING MONATOMIC METAL IONS
Simply use the name of the metal and add the
word “ion”
Element Name
Ion Name
Sodium Metal(Na)
Aluminum (Al)
Write the names of the following ions:
Ca+2
Ag+
NAMING MONATOMIC METAL IONS
If a metal has more than one possible charge,
the charge has to be indicated by a Roman
numeral, in parenthesis, immediately following
the name.
Ex: Fe+3
Fe+2
Roman numerals are:
I
1
V
5
II 2
VI
6
III 3
VII 7
IV 4
VIII 8
IX
X
9
10
NAMING MONATOMIC METAL IONS
Write the formula of the following ions to show
their charges:
 Uranium (VI) ion = __________
 Iron (II) ion
= __________
 Nickel (II) ion
= __________
NAMING MONATOMIC NON-METAL IONS
Take off the original ending and add an “ide”
ending.
Element Name
Ion Name
Florine (F) 
Sulphur (S) 
Write the names of the following ions:
a) Br- = __________________________
b) Cl- = __________________________
c) I- = __________________________
d) O-2 = __________________________
e) N-3 = __________________________
Naming Polyatomic Ions:
Rules for naming are more complicated (we won’t
learn them). But we will need to KNOW some
common polyatomic ions (names, formula, charge).
* Know table on page 69.
How to write the formula
and how to write the name
of
Ionic Compounds
HOW TO WRITE THE FORMULA OF IONIC
COMPOUNDS
An ionic compound
A compound made up of ions ( usually a metal + non-metal )
The ions have charges but the compound is a neutral molecule.
 remember in ionic compounds , one ion loses and one ion
gains electrons).
The chemical name of an ionic compound always gives the
positive ion (cation) first and the negative ion (anion) second.

Ex: Sodium Chloride
3 SIMPLE RULES
CALCIUM CHLORIDE & MAGNESIUM OXIDE
WRITING FORMULA OF IONIC COMPOUNDS
MORE EXAMPLES

Potassium oxide:

Tin (IV) oxide:

Calcium phosphide

Iron (II) sulphate:
We do not change the endings of polyatomic ions because they
already have special endings that end in “ate” or “ite”
How to Write the Name of an IONIC
COMPOUND
Check your periodic table to see if the
positive ion has more than one ion charge.
How to Write the Name of an IONIC COMPOUND
A) If the first ion has only one possible ion
charge:
write the names of the ions(not elements) one
after the other
 omit the word “ion”

ZnCl2
Ag2SO4
B) If the first ion has more than one possible
charge:
B) If the first ion has more than one possible
charge:
“De-swap and de-drop” the subscripts (to find out the
real charge)
 check the charge on negative ion (if it is not as what
it should be, you probably need to double or triple it)
 write the charge of the positive ion with roman
numerals
 Write the charge of the negative ion with “ide”
Example

PbO2
oxygen has a combining capacity of – 2
Pb+4 O -2
Pb2 O4
lead (IV) oxide
TRY THESE ON YOUR OWN

FeS

Fe2(SO4)3
Note: you must memorize the “common name”
of 2 compounds:
H2O = water
 NH3 = ammonia
be careful of Ammonium NH4+1

Naming Hydrates
Hydrates are ionic compounds that include water
molecules in their crystal structures.
Naming hydrates is pretty
straightforward and relies on using
prefixes to tell how many water
molecules are attached.
 The # of water molecules is shown after
a centered dot

Example of a hydrate: CuSO4·5H2O
see table on page 72 for prefixes
Naming Hydrates
see table of page 72 for prefixes
CuSO4.5H2O=
copper (II) sulphate pentahydrate
Ca(NO3)2·4H2O=
PRACTICE TIME!
Self-test on page66 All of it
Ex#1 on page 68
Ex#4 on page 71
Ex# 5 on page 72
Page 73 Ex#6: a, c, d, f, g, I
Page 73 Ex#7: a, b, c, d, e, f
UNIT IV: LESSON 2
How to write the formula
and how to write the name
of
Covalent Compounds
Naming COVALENT COMPOUNDS Using the
Prefix-Naming System
Remember covalent compounds SHARE their
electrons ( usually two non-metals together).
Binary Compound: a compound made of two
different types of atoms (usually two non-metals)
SO2,
Na2S, NaCl


Tertiary Compound: a compound made of three
different types of atoms.
H2SO4
KOH
KMnO4
Naming COVALENT COMPOUNDS Using the
Prefix-Naming System
We use the prefix-naming system
1- Each compound name is made of words, each
with a suitable prefix
see p. 73
Naming COVALENT COMPOUNDS Using the
Prefix-Naming System
Prefix-system naming continued


First word is the name of element(not ion)
with a prefix to indicate the # of atoms
Second word is the name of the element with
an “ide” ending and a prefix to indicate the # of
atoms
P2S3 = diphosphorus trisulphide
Exception: if there is only ONE atom of the first
element, don’t use the prefix mono.
 Ex: CO2 =

TRY ON YOUR OWN
Examples:
 P2S3 =

CO =

BrCl3 =

S2Cl2 =
PREFIX NAMING SYSTEM



Basically used when you have two different NonMetals.
Non-metals are usually found on the right side of
the periodic table.
Remember the prefixes.
WRITING FORMULAS FOR COVALENT
COMPOUNDS
Steps:


Write down the symbol for each element
Use the prefix to determine the number of atoms
of each element.

Example: dinitrogen tetroxide

Do NOT reduce !
carbon dioxide
Some Common Acids

A compound is called an acid when the chemical
formula starts with ‘H’

ex: HCl, H2SO4
see common acids on p. 74 – KNOW
THESE
SUMMARY
Naming
 First identify if it is ionic or covalent
 Ionic compounds
Metal and non-metal
 Positive ion first then negative ion
 Use roman numerals to indicate the ions with more
than one possible charge
 For the negative ions(non-metals) change the ending
to ide.


Covalent compounds
Non-metal and non-metal
 For both, we use the prefix-naming system (mono, di,
tri, tetra, etc)
 First one, you just write the element’s original name
with prefix
 You change the second element’s name to “ide” with
prefix.

SUMMARY
Writing Formulas
 First identify if it is ionic or covalent
 Ionic compounds
Write formula for positive ion first then negative ion
 Swap and drop charges as subscripts
 Reduce if you need to.


Covalent compounds



Write down the symbol for each element
Use the prefix to determine the number of atoms of each
element.
Do NOT reduce !
PRACTICE TIME!

Page 74 Ex8 and Ex9.
Page 75 writing the names question
( only odd numbers )
15  89 ( only odds)

Page 76 writing the formulas question
( only even numbers)
90  162 (only evens)
