Naming of substances
ELEMENTS
Generally the elements take their name from the elements ENGLISH name. Usually we take the
first letter - THIS IS A CAPITOL letter and a second letter (a small letter) which is in the word
So Calcium has the symbol Ca
Carbon has the symbol C
Nitrogen has the symbol N
However this breaks down when we consider elements that have been known for a long time.
In this case the symbol may come from the LATIN or GREEK names
Lead comes from PLUMBUM - symbol is Pb
There are a few others - using the Periodic Table you should be able to find them.
COMPOUNDS
METALS JOINING WITH NON METALS
The name always starts with the metal which is written out in full.
The ADAPTED name of the non metal is now chosen - do not choose any element in GROUP 8 these are the noble gases and they do not react with anyone.
ADAPTED NAMES - two easy rules
RULE 1: If one non metal is present then the name changes so that it ends with IDE
Non metal
Non metal
chlorine
ADAPTED
Non metal ending
chloride
silicon
ADAPTED
Non metal ending
silicide
oxygen
oxide
fluorine
fluoride
nitrogen
nitride
bromine
bromide
carbon
carbide
iodine
iodide
sulphur
sulphide
phosphorus
phosphide
RULE 2:
If a non metal is present with oxygen then the name changes so that it ends with ATE
Non metal + oxygen
Non metal + oxygen
chlorine + oxygen
ADAPTED
Non metal ending
chlorate
silicon + oxygen
ADAPTED
Non metal ending
silicate
nitrogen + oxygen
nitrate
bromine + oxygen
bromate
carbon + oxygen
carbonate
iodine + oxygen
iodate
sulphur + oxygen
sulphate
phosphorus + oxygen
phosphate
manganese + oxygen
manganate
chromium + oxygen
chromate
EXERCISE on naming compounds
Look at the 20 elements below.
C
H
He Li N
O
F
Na Mg Al P
S
Cl
Br I
Ar Mn Cr Si
Ne
Circle the elements that are metals
1. Write down the name of all these 20 elements
Element
Name
Element
Name
Element
Symbol
Symbol
Symbol
C
H
He
N
O
F
Na
Mg
Al
S
Cl
Br
Ar
Mn
Cr
Li
Ne
P
I
S
Name
2. Using the elements above write down the name of 20 compounds made by reacting a metal with
one non metal.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
3. Using the elements above write down the name of 10 compounds made by reacting a metal with
two non metals one of which must be oxygen.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
NON METALS JOINING WITH NON METALS
The element that comes first is the one that comes first in this list of common non metals
C, N, H, S, I, Br, Cl, O and F
So we have CH4, NH3, HBr, H2O, and NF3.
We also number them so that:
one
mono
think of monorail (one rail), monologue - one person talking
two
di-
think of dialogue - 2 people talking, diode - 2 electrodes
three
tri -
as in triangle - geometric figure with 3 sides; triple - having 3 parts
four
tetra -
as in tetrahedron - 4 sided figure;
five-
penta -
as in pentagon - a five sided figure; pentathlon - 5 athletic events
six
hexa
as in hexagon - a six sided figure
seven
hepta
as in heptagon - a seven sided figure
eight
octa
as in octopus - an eight legged sea creature octet - a group of 8 players an
octagenerian - someone who is between 80-89 years old
nine -
nona -
a nonagenerian - someone who is between 90-99 years old
ten
deca
as in decade - 10 years decapod - a creature with 10 feet
So CO2 is carbon dioxide and CO is carbon monoxide.
Name the following compounds
Formula
Name
Formula
NO
SO3
NO2
SO2
N2O3
SF6
N2O4
P2O5
N2O5
NCl3
Name
If the compound contains the elements name it. (REMEMBER - metals first)
Elements
Name
Mg N O
Mn Cl
Al Cl O
KPO
HSO
Cr S
Na Si O
Li O S
Br Mg O
I Na
O Cl K