Inorganic Nomenclature

Being able to name and write proper formulas for elements, ions and compounds is critical to your
success in Chemistry 30A. If you do not master this section in Chemistry 30A you will not be able to
move on and be successful in upcoming chapters. In this lab session, you will practice naming and
writing formulas for elements, ions and compounds. Element names can be found directly from the
periodic table. A summary for how to name ions, ionic compounds and molecular compounds is given
below. To receive credit for the lab session your group must complete the attached worksheet and get
checked off by the instructor before leaving the lab. Note that there are no prelab or postlab assignments
in Mastering Chemistry for this lab session.

Prelab: Although there are no official prelab assignments for worksheet labs in Mastering Chemistry,
you should still read through this entire worksheet in preparation for the lab session and any lab quizzes.

1. Naming Ions:

A. Cations:

When a metal loses its valence electrons it becomes a cation, which is an ion with a positive
charge. For main group elements the number of valence electrons is easily predicted based on
the group number. A cation is named by using the element name followed by the word “ion”.

Some metals can react by losing different numbers of electrons. For example, tin and lead in
group 4A can both react by losing two electrons or four electrons. For metals like these, which
have multiple possible oxidation states, a roman numeral is needed to specify which oxidation
state is appropriate. For example, tin ion should always be expressed as either “tin (II) ion” or
“tin (IV) ion”, depending on the charge.

Examples:
1. Sodium ion = Na+
2. Magnesium ion = Mg2+

B. Anions:

When a nonmetal gains valence electrons it becomes an anion, which is an ion with a negative
charge. The number of electrons gained by a nonmetal will be equal to the group number
subtracted from 8. For example, the group 7 nonmetals (halogens) will gain one electron. The
anion is named by using the stem of the element name with the -ide ending.

Examples:
1. Chloride ion = Cl-
2. Oxide ion = O2-

C. Polyatomic Ions:

Polyatomic Ions are ions that contain two or more atoms (a group of atoms) with an overall
charge. Polyatomic ions are held together by covalent bonds (to be discussed later), but they
have an overall charge and are therefore ions. The chart on the next page shows the polyatomic
ions that must be memorized for Chem 30A.

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 Name Formula
Acetate C2H3O2- (CH3COO-)
Carbonate CO32-
Hydrogen carbonate (bicarbonate) HCO3-
Hydroxide OH-
Hydronium H3 O+
Nitrate NO3-
Nitrite NO2-
Phosphate PO43-
Hydrogen phosphate HPO42-
Dihydrogen phosphate H2PO4-
Ammonium NH4+
Sulfate SO42-
Sulfite SO32-
Cyanide CN-

Practice: Write the name or formula for the following ions.

SO32- ____________________ Ca 2+ ____________________

Oxide ion ____________________ Iodide ion ____________________

Cyanide ion ____________________ Iron (III) ion ____________________

2. Naming Ionic Compounds:

Ionic compounds are formed when electrons are transferred between atoms to form cations and anions.
Although ions are formed, the overall charges balance out and the charge on the compound is neutral.
Ionic compounds are held together by electrostatic forces of attraction, and are typically formed when
metals react with nonmetals. Below is a summary for naming and writing formulas for binary ionic
compounds and ionic compounds containing polyatomic ions.

A. Binary Ionic Compounds contain only one type of metal and one type of nonmetal.

Converting a Formula to a Name:

a. Write the name of the cation (use roman numeral if necessary)
b. Write the name of the anion (use the –ide ending)

Examples:
1. MgO = Magnesium oxide
2. PbCl2 = Lead (II) chloride

Converting a Name to a Formula:

a. Determine the charge on the cation
b. Determine the charge on the anion
c. Determine the ratio of cations to anions needed to make the compound neutral
d. Always express the ratio of cations to anions in the simplest whole number ratio
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 Examples:
1. Calcium chloride = CaCl2
2. Sodium sulfide = Na2S

B. Ionic Compounds Containing Polyatomic Ions:

In order to write formulas or names for ionic compounds that contain polyatomic ions, you must
be able to recognize and name the polyatomic ion involved. The steps are identical to those
outlined above for binary ionic compounds, with the addition of one: when there is more than
one polyatomic ion in a formula, you MUST write it in parenthesis and put the subscript
indicating the number of polyatomic ions outside the parenthesis.

Examples:
1. Magnesium nitrate = Mg(NO3)2
2. Iron (II) sulfate = FeSO4
3. Iron (III) sulfate = Fe2(SO4)3

Practice: Write the name or formula for the following ionic compounds.

NaCl ____________________ SrF2 ____________________

Sodium iodide ____________________ Calcium nitrate____________________

3. Naming Molecular Compounds:

Molecular compounds form when electrons are shared between atoms in order to achieve octet. The
atoms are held together by covalent (molecular) bonds. There are no ions in molecular compounds.
Molecular compounds are typically formed between nonmetals only.

There are seven elements that exist in nature as diatomic molecules, thus the element name is referring
to the diatomic form: H2, F2, Cl2, Br2, I2, N2, O2. You must memorize these.

When there are two or more different types of atoms in a molecular compound, we use prefixes to tell
how many atoms of each element are present. You must memorize these prefixes, which are
from the Greek number system.

Number Prefix
1 mono-
2 di-
3 tri-
4 tetra-
5 penta-
6 hexa-
7 hepta-
8 octa-
9 nona-
10 deca-
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 Converting a Formula to a Name:
a. Write the name of the leftmost nonmetal using the appropriate prefix
b. If there is only one of the first element the mono prefix is dropped
c. Write the stem of the rightmost nonmetal with the –ide ending using the appropriate prefix
d. Do not drop the mono prefix on the second element
e. NOTE: ao is written as o; oo is written as o; ii is written as ii

Examples:
1. SF6 = sulfur hexafluoride
2. N2O4 = dinitrogen tetroxide
3. CO = carbon monoxide

Practice: Write the name or formula for the following molecular compounds.

CO2 ____________________ SO3 ____________________

Carbon tetrabromide________________ Nitrogen triiodide__________________

4. Naming Acids:

An acid is a substance that is capable of donating a hydrogen ion (H+). You must memorize the
following binary and oxyacids for Chem 30A.

A. Binary Acids: Binary acids contain H and one other element. They always start with the
prefix hydro- followed by the stem of the other elements name and the word acid. NOTE:
These substances are only named by the acid nomenclature rules if they are aqueous state.

Formula Name
HF Hydrofluoric acid
HI Hydroiodic acid
HCl Hydrochloric acid
HBr Hydrobromic acid

B. Oxyacids: Oxyacids contain H, O and another element. They NEVER start with the hydro-
prefix. They are named from the polyatomic ion names. If the polyatomic ion ends in –ate, the
ending is changed to –ic followed by the word acid. If the polyatomic ion ends in –ite, the
ending is changed to –ous followed by the word acid.

Formula Name
H2SO4 Sulfuric acid
H2SO3 Sulfurous acid
HNO3 Nitric acid
HNO2 Nitrous acid
H2CO3 Carbonic acid
H3PO4 Phosphoric acid
HC2H3O2 Acetic acid

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Practice: Write the name or formula for the following acids.

Hydrochloric acid____________________ Sulfurous acid ____________________

HNO3 (aq) ____________________ H2SO4 (aq) ____________________

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Nomenclature Worksheet Name:____________________ Group #:_______

1. Ions: Write the formula (including charge) for the following ions.

Calcium ion ____________________ Nitride ion ____________________

Sodium ion ____________________ Nitrite ion ____________________

Carbonate ion ____________________ Nitrate ion ____________________

Ammonium ion____________________ Sulfite ion ____________________

Magnesium ion____________________ Sulfide ion ____________________

Tin (II) ion ____________________ Sulfate ion ____________________

Copper (I) ion____________________ Hydroxide ion ____________________

2. Ionic Compounds

A. Complete the table below by writing the formula for the ionic compound formed from the cation
in the left column and the anion in the top row. See the examples for further clarification.

Ions F- S2- N3- SO32-

Li+ LiF
Ca2+
Al3+
NH4+ (NH4) 2SO3
B. Write the names for the following ionic compounds.

MgS ____________________ KNO3 ____________________

LiBr ____________________ Al2O3 ____________________

PbI2 ____________________ SnO ____________________

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 C. Write the formulas for the following ionic compounds.

Sodium nitrite ____________________

Potassium sulfide ____________________

Barium chloride ____________________

Lead (II) sulfate ____________________

Copper (II) nitrate ____________________

Copper (I) oxide ____________________

Ammonium hydroxide ____________________

Aluminum hydroxide ____________________

3. Molecular Compounds

A. Name the following molecular compounds.

PCl5 ____________________ NI3 ____________________

ICl7 ____________________ N2 O4 ____________________

B. Write formulas for the following molecular compounds.

Nitrogen dioxide __________________

Silicon tetrachloride __________________

Phosphorus triiodide __________________

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4. Acids:

A. Write formulas for the following acids.

Sulfuric acid ____________________

Nitric acid ____________________

Acetic acid ____________________

B. Write names for the following acids.

HI (aq) ____________________ H3PO4 (aq) ____________________

HNO2 (aq) ____________________ H2CO3 (aq) ____________________

5. Write formulas for the following ions, elements or compounds.

Hydrobromic acid ____________________

Oxygen ____________________

Lithium carbonate ____________________

Cesium ion ____________________

Tetrasulfur tetranitride ____________________

Lead (II) sulfide ____________________

Phosphorus trifluoride ____________________

Copper (II) sulfate ____________________

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6. Write names for the following compounds. HINT: It will help to first identify the
substance as an ionic compound, molecular compound or acid.

LiCl ____________________ Na2SO3 ____________________

HNO2 (aq) ____________________ K2CO3 ____________________

KI ____________________ Al2(SO4)3 ____________________

NH4Cl ____________________ BaCl2 ____________________

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