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The system used in naming substances is called chemical nomenclature, from the Latin words nomen meaning “name” and calare
meaning “to call.”

Some compounds have common names like water for H20 and ammonia for NH3. However, there are more than 50 million known
chemical substances and not all of them have common names. Giving all of them common names would be a hopelessly complicated
task. That is why a set of rules have been devised to give each substance a unique name based on its composition.
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The rules for chemical nomenclature are based on the division of substances into categories. The major division is between organic
and inorganic compounds. Organic compounds contain carbon and hydrogen, often in combination with oxygen, nitrogen, or other
elements. All others are inorganic compounds. In this lesson, the rules for naming three categories of inorganic compounds (ionic
and molecular compounds, and acids) will be discussed. Organic compounds have a different set of rules for naming which is no
longer covered in this course.

• Ionic compounds consist of metal ions combined with nonmetal ions. Positive ions from metals are called cations while negative
ions from nonmetals are called anions.
• Acids are a class of hydrogen-containing compounds whose molecules yield hydrogen ions (H+) when dissolved in water. An acid
is written with H as the first element, as in HCl and H2SO4.
• Molecular compounds consist of nonmetals which are connected by covalent bonds.

NOTE: In naming inorganic compounds, it is important to determine first if the compound is ionic or molecular because different
nomenclature rules apply.
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• The metals that form only 1 cation (only 1 possible charge) are those of Grp 1A and Grp 2A, as well as Al 3+ (Grp 3A) and two
transition-metal ions: Ag+ (Grp 1B) and Zn2+ (Grp 2B). All Grp 1 and 2 cations have charges +1 and +2, respectively.
• Most metals that form cations with diff. charges are transition metals, from Grp 3B to Grp 2B.
• Ions of the same element that have different charges have different properties, such as different colors.
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Some metals like Fe and Cu can have differently charged ions. Added to the root of the element’s Latin name, the less positively
charged ion (ex. Cu+ and Fe2+) ends with –ous while the more positively charged (ex. Cu 2+ and Fe3+) ends with –ic.

Some combinations of nonmetals can also form cations such as NH 4+ and H3O+ and they have names that end in –ium.
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Names of some common cations. The ions on the left side are the monatomic (one atom) ions that do not have more than one
possible charge. Those on the right side are either polyatomic (many atoms) cations or cations with more than one possible charge.

The Hg22+ ion is unusual because, even though it is a metal ion, it is not monatomic. It is called the mercury (I) ion because it can be
thought of as two Hg+ ions bound together.
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Anions are negatively charged ions.

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The ending –ate is used for the base or the most common or representative oxyanion of an element (ex. ClO 3- chlorate)
The ending –ite is used for an oxyanion that has the same charge but one oxygen atom fewer. (ex. ClO2- chlorite)
The prefix per- indicates one more oxygen atom than the oxyanion ending in –ate. (ex. ClO4- perchlorate)
The prefix hypo- indicates one oxygen atom fewer than the oxyanion ending in –ite. (ex. ClO- hypochlorite)

ClO4- perchlorate prefix per- for 1 oxygen more than the base oxyanion
ClO3- chlorate ends with –ate for the base or most commong oxyanion
ClO2- chlorite ends with –ite for 1 oxygen fewer than the base oxyanion
ClO- hypochlorite prefix hypo- for 1 oxygen fewer than the oxyanion ending in –ite
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Simple anion ends with –ide. Example: Cl- is chloride

Oxyanions: Perchlorate (+O atom)  Chlorate → Chlorite (-O atom) → Hypochlorite (-O atom)

Another example for Bromine, Br.

Simple anion ends with –ide. Example: Br- is bromide
Oxyanions: Perbromate (+O atom)  Bromate → Bromite (-O atom) → Hypobromite (-O atom)

The second picture shows the common oxyanions and their location in the periodic table.
For Carbon and Nitrogen: Carbonate and Nitrate
For Phosphorus, Sulfur, and Chlorine: Phosphate, Sulfate, and Chlorate

For period 2, the ions can have a maximum of 3 oxygen atoms. For period 3, the ions can have a maximum of 4 oxygen atoms.
For both periods, the charges, disregarding the sign, increase right to left.
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HCO3- ion is commonly called bicarbonate ion. Either name is correct.

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Names and formulas of the common anions. Those anions whose names end in –ide are listed on the left portion of the table. Those
whose names end in –ate are listed on the right.

Those of Grp 7A always have a -1 charge (F-, Cl-, Br-, and I-) and those of Grp 6A have a -2 charge (O2- and S2-).
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How to write the chemical formula of an ionic compound (cation of the metal and the anion of the nonmetal):

Example: Calcium chloride

• Write the corresponding formula of the cation and anion. For Calcium, Ca 2+; for chloride, Cl-.
• The charge of the cation will become the subscript of the anion. Likewise, the charge of the anion will become the subscript of
the cation. Thus, the +2 charge of Ca becomes the subscript of Cl, while the -1 charge of Cl becomes the subscript of Ca but a
subscript of 1 is no longer written. Thus, the formula is CaCl 2.
• Polyatomic cations or anions are enclosed in a parentheses followed by the appropriate subscript.

How to name ionic compounds:

• Identify the name of the cation and the anion and combine their names. The cation’s name comes first followed by the anion.
• For Cu(ClO4)2, two names are acceptable – the new and the old method. Determine first the charge of Copper since it can have
different charges (Cu+ or Cu2+). In this example, Cu has a +2 charge because of the subscript after ClO 4-. Thus, for the new
method its name is copper (II) perchlorate and for the old method is called cupric perchlorate.
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Practice answering sample problems before reading the solutions.

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Practice answering sample problems before reading the solutions.

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You do not need to memorize all the names of the ions.

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Acids are hydrogen-containing compounds. Their molecules yield hydrogen ions (H+) when dissolved in water. At this stage, an acid is
written with H as the first element, as in HCl and H2SO4. It is an anion connected to enough H+ ions to neutralize, or balance, the
anion’s charge. Thus, the SO42- ion requires H+ ions, forming H2SO4.

For anions that end in –ide (monatomic), its acid is named by adding the prefix hydro-, changing –ide to –ic, and followed by the
word acid.
Example: Chloride, Cl- → Hydrochloric acid
Bromide, Br- → Hydrobromic acid
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For an oxyanion (polyatomic with O atoms) that end in –ate and -ite, its acid is named by changing –ate to –ic, –ite to –ous, and
followed by the word acid.
Example: Bromate, BrO3- → Bromic acid
Bromite, BrO2- → Bromous acid
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Practice answering sample problems before reading the solutions.

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Naming binary (two-element) molecular compounds (nonmetals covalently bonded).

• The element farther to the left is named first. Ex. For C and Cl, carbon is named and written first.
• For elements that are in the same group, the lower one is named first. Ex. S first before O.
• The name of the first element is retained while the name of the second element will have an –ide ending.
• To indicate the number of atoms per element, the Greek prefixes are used (see Table).

For P4S10 → tetraphosphorus decasulfide

For NF3 nitrogen trifluoride (the prefix mono- is never used with the first element)
For N2O4 → dinitrogen tetroxide (when the prefix ends in a or o and the name of the second element begins with a vowel, the a or o
of the prefix is often dropped. Thus, it is tetroxide and not tetraoxide or monoxide instead of monooxide).