Types of inorganic compounds
Objectives
1. To consider the range of different
types of inorganic compounds
2. To learn how to name them!
Outcomes
1. To be able to list the different types of
inorganic compounds and list some of
their key features
Main types of inorganic compound
 1. Acids
 2. Oxo acids;
 3. Hydroxides
 4. Metal oxides
 5. Non metal oxides
 6. Binary salts and those containing polyatomic ions
 7. Peroxides
Acids
 These are compounds that dissolve in water to release Hydrogen
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ions H+ also called protons because a hydrogen ion has lost its one
electron and there are no neutrons in the Hydrogen nucleus.
Strong acids release high concentrations of hydrogen ions – weak
acids release low concentrations of hydrogen ions.
Simple acids comprise Hydrogen plus another non/metal such as
chlorine (HCl)
Such acids are named following these rules
Name always starts with hydro
The anion name is changed from ide to ic
So HCl is hydrochloric acid
What would we call HF
What would we call HI
Oxoacids
 These are all acids that contain both a hydrogen ion and
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an anion containing oxygen.
Examples are sulphuric and nitric acid:
H2SO4 HNO3
These are formed when the oxides of sulphur and
nitrogen dissolve in water.
The oxides of sulphur and nitrogen are gases and
covalent molecules.
They become ions when dissolved.
Oxo acids are named differently
The main form is named after the other element in the
anion (not the oxygen) and the name ends in ic
Oxoacids continued
 If it has one more oxygen than the normal ic form
then it has the prefix per added
 E.g.
 Chloric acid is HCLO3
 Add another oxygen and you get perchloric acid:
HCLO4
Oxo acids continued
 If there are less oxygens than the ic form then you
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add the suffix ous
E.g. Sulphuric acid is H2SO4
Sulphurous acid is H2SO3
Nitric acid is HNO3
Nitrous acid is ……
2 fewer and you also add the prefix hypo
E.g. hypochlorous acid: HClO
Main lab acids
 HCl Hydrochloric
 H2SO4 Sulphuric acid
 HNO3 Nitric acid
 You must learn these three off by heart – no excuses!
3. Hydroxides
 These are bases that dissociate into metal and
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hydroxyl (OH)- ions when dissolved in water;
Hydroxyl ions have as you can see a valency of -1.
pH of solution is always alkaline (more than 7)
Most formed by group 1 and 2 metals, but others can
be formed such as Aluminium and Iron (III)
hydroxide.
Most are highly soluble, whilst some like iron (iii) are
not.
Hydroxides continued
 Strong alkalis are very corrosive of organic tissue;
 Feel and taste soapy
 Strong bases e.g. NaOH dissociate almost completely
in water:
NaOH (s) dissolved in water
Almost no NaOH remains.
Na+(aq)+ OH-(aq)
Hydroxides continued
 Weak bases such as ammonia (NH3) do form weak
alkalis, but much of the ammonia remains as
undissociated molecules rather than accepting a
hydrogen ion to become ammonium (NH4)+ (Double
arrow shows that reaction is constantly going in both
directions.
NH3 (g) + H2O
(NH4)+(aq) + OH-(aq)
Hydroxides continued
 Neutralise acids – OH- react with H+ ions in a ratio
of 1:1 to produce water.
 Acid + alkali
salt + water (remember
this!!)
 Hydroxides used in soap manufacture, detergents,
cleaners, solutions for unblocking drains and
antacids
Metal oxides
 Often known as bases
 Formed by burning metals in air, or by natural
oxidation which results in the corrosion of metals;
 Most metals react with oxygen to form oxides,
though some such as gold do not.
 Oxygen has a valency of 2 so it is easy to work out the
formulae if you know the valency of the metal
 Oxidation of many metals is also known as corrosion
or in the case of iron, rusting!
Work out the formulae of these
 Lithium oxide
 Copper (i) oxide
 Silver (ii) oxide
 Tin (iv) oxide
 Beryllium oxide
Non-metal oxides
 These tend to be gases, e.g. sulphur dioxide, carbon
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dioxide, and the various nitrous oxides. They are found
in exhaust gases and are an important part of air
pollution.
When dissolved in water they form acids (oxo acids)
This leads to acid rain.
The strength of the oxo acid depends on how readily they
dissociate into their ions. Sulphur dioxide readily
dissociates to form sulphuric and sulphurous acids which
are very strong acids.
Carbon dioxide only slightly dissociates to form carbonic
acid which is very weak.
Salts
Do not get confused. Table salt is only one of many
Salts are made of a metal and a non metal
They are of course ionic compounds
Those containing simply a metal and one type of non
metal as a cation and anion are called binary salts.
 Those such as sulphates with polyatomic anions
containing oxygen are referred to as oxisales in spanish.
No direct translation of this has been found by me as yet.
(oxisalts?). Do we really need to distinguish??
 They have variable solubilities: copper sulphate is very
soluble, calcium carbonate (chalk and limestone is only
very slightly soluble)
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Salts continued
 If dissolved in water readily conduct an electric
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current
Have high melting points
The more reactive the constituent elements, the
more stable the salt;
In solution a less reactive cation can be replaced by a
more reactive one
E.g. Copper sulphate + calcium = Calcium sulphate +
copper
Salts continued
 Produced by the reactions of metals and alkalis with
acids
 Metal + acid = Salt + Hydrogen
 Acid + alkali = Salt + water
 Acid + carbonate = salt + carbon dioxide + water
Acids and salts
 Sulphuric acid makes sulphates
 Nitric acid makes nitrates
 Carbonic acid makes carbonates
 Hydrochloric acid makes chlorides
 Sulphurous acid makes sulphites
 Nitrous acid makes……………………..
 Hydrofluoric acid makes ………………
 Chloric acid makes …………………….
Peroxides
 Have an additional oxygen
 H2O2
 Called hydrogen peroxide
 Formed in cells during metabolism
 Strong oxidising agent
 Breaks down to water and oxygen
 Write the balanced equation
Your research
 Find an example of each of these types of compounds
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which has a use or plays a role, good or bad in our lives.
1. Acids
2. Oxo acids;
3. Hydroxides
4. Metal oxides
5. Non metal oxides
6. Binary salts and those containing polyatomic ions
7. Peroxides
Work together in pairs.
This will be your P3 exam. Submit to howard@itesm.mx
Friday afternoon.
Rubric for team report on types of compounds
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1. name an example
2. Give its formula
3. explain it’s use or the harm it causes
4. say how it is formed
5. add any relevant information you can e.g
environmental impacts of its production
6. reference information where it is in the text – not just
at the end.
7. Use visual information with captions
8. describe chemical reactions with formulae
9. Try to write in perfect English (check each other’s
spelling) 10 marks per section. 70 marks in total