RULES on Writing Chemical Formulas

A. Ionic Compound
1. Write the formula of the positive ion first. Followed by the formula of the negative ion.
2. Find the smallest number of each ion needed to get the same number of positive and negative
charges.Theses numbers are the subscripts of the ions in the final formula of the compound. An easy
method to choose the correct subscript is to criss- cross the charges of the ions:

Mg+2 Cl-1 Mg +2 Cl -1
Mg Cl2 Magnesium chloride

3. Write the subscripts of the lower right of the formulas of the ions. When the subscript is one, the subscript
is omitted.
+1
Na Cl-1 Na +1 Cl -1 NaCl NaCl Sodium chloride

4. When the subscripts are the same, it is also omitted.

Ca+2 O-2 Ca+2 O-2 CaO Calcium oxide

Al+3 N -3 Al+3 N-3 AlN __________________

5. When more than one polyatomic ion is involved, enclosed the formula of the ion in a parenthesis and write
the subscript outside the parenthesis.

Al+3 CN-1 Al(CN)3 ______________________

Al+3 CO3 -2
Al2 ( CO 3 )3 _______________________

6. When a metal forms two monoatomic cations, it is necessary to distinguish between these ions. The stock
system differentiates cations by writing the charge of the cation in parentheses using Roman numerals
immediately after the name of the metal. An older method, the ous-ic system . Involves the addition of the
suffixes “ous” or “ic” ( representing the lower and higher charges respectively) to the root of the English
or latin names of the metal.

Fe +2 Cl-1 FeCl2 Iron (II) chloride or Ferrous chloride

Fe+3 -
Cl -1
FeCl3 ______________________________
 B. Covalent Compounds
1. Covalent compounds of metal atoms are usually named in a manner similar to ionic compound .
2. Most binary compounds contain the atoms of two non metals bonded together. The elements in the
compound named and written in the following order:

B Si C P N H S I Br Cl O F

Order of elements in binary covalent bonds

The name of the element whose symbol appears first is written in full followed by the root of the
name of the second element with the suffix -ide. Greek orb Latin prefixes are attached to the
name of each element to indicate the number of atoms of that element in the molecule. The prefix
mono - is usually omitted.

Prefix meaning

mono 1 hexa 6
di 2 hepta 7
tri 3 octa 8
tetra 4 nona 9
penta 5 deca 10
 Naming Organic of Inorganic Acids and Bases
Acids are substances whose molecules release hydrogen ions. H+1 , in water. This results in the formation
of an ion. The names of acids are based on the anion produced. In the pure state, an acid named by using
the word hydrogen followed by the name anion.
Example: HCl hydrogen chloride
H2 SO3 _______________________
H2SO4 _______________________
When the acid is dissolved in water its aqueous solution is given another name. The following rules are
for naming aqueous solutions of acids.
a. If the anions ends in ide, the prefix hydro is attached to the root of the anion name followed by the
followed by the –ic acid.
HCl hydrogen chloride hydrochloric acid.
HBr ________________ __________________
HCN _________________ __________________
b. If the name of the oxyanion ends in –ate, the suffix –ic acid is attached to the root of the anion name.
H2 SO4 hydrogen sulphate sulphuric acid
HNO3 ________________ _______________
c. If the name of oxyanion ends in –ite, the suffix –ous acid is attached to the root of the anion name.
H2 SO3 hydrogen sulphite sulphurous acid
HNO2 _______________ __________________

Bases contains hydroxyl group, OH in combination with a metal ion. Metal hydroxides are named by
indicating the name of the metal ion followed by the word hydroxide.
NaOH Sodium hydroxide
Ba(OH)2 ____________________

Naming of Hydrates

A hydrate is a substance that contains water molecules as a part of its crystalline structure. Hydrates
are named by indicating the name of the compound first exclusive of the water followed by the term
hydrate with a prefix or a number representing the number of molecule present.

BaCl2 . 2 H2 O Barium chloride dihydrate or Barium chloride 2-hydrate

Common Name

1.NaHCO3 Baking soda ______________________________

7. MgSO2 . 7H2 O Epsom salt ______________________________