Chemical Nomenclature

Chemical nomenclature is the term given to the naming of compounds. Chemists use specific rules and "conventions" to name different compounds..

Oxidation and Reduction

When forming compounds, it is important to know something about the way atoms will react with each other. One of the most important manners in
which atoms and/or molecules react with each other is the oxidation/reduction reaction. Oxidation/Reduction reactions are the processes of losing and
gaining electrons respectively. Just remember, "LEO the lion saysGER:" Lose Electrons Oxidation, Gain Electrons Reduction. Oxidation numbers
are assigned to atoms and compounds as a way to tell scientists where the electrons are in a reaction. It is often referred to as the "charge" on the
atom or compound. The oxidation number is assigned according to a standard set of rules. They are as follows:

1. An atom of a pure element has an oxidation number of zero.

2. For single atoms in an ion, their oxidation number is equal to their charge.
3. Fluorine is always -1 in compounds.
4. Cl, Br, and I are always -1 in compounds except when they are combined with O or F.
5. H is normally +1 and O is normally -2.
6. The oxidation number of a compound is equal to the sum of the oxidation numbers for each atom in the compound.

Forming Ionic Compounds

Knowing the oxidation number of a compound is very important when discussing ionic compounds. Ionic compounds are combinations of positive
and negative ions. They are generally formed when nonmetals and metals bond. To determine which substance is formed, we must use the charges of
the ions involved. To make a neutral molecule, the positive charge of the cation (positively-charged ion) must equal the negative charge of the anion
(negatively-charged ion). In order to create a neutral charged molecule, you must combine the atoms in certain proportions. Scientists use subscripts
to identify how many of each atom makes up the molecule. For example, when combining magnesium and nitrogen we know that the magnesium ion
has a "+2" charge and the nitrogen ion has a "-3" charge. To cancel these charges, we must have three magnesium atoms for every two nitrogen
atoms:

3Mg2+ + 2N3- --> Mg3N2

Knowledge of the charges of ions is crucial to knowing the formulas of the compounds formed.

 alkalis (1st column elements) form "+1" ions such as Na+ and Li+
 alkaline earth metals (2nd column elements) form " 2+" ions such as Mg2+ and Ba2+
 halogens (7th column elements) form "-1" ions such as Cl- and I-

Other common ions are listed in the table below:

Positive ions (cations) Negative ions (anions)
1+ 1-
ammonium (NH4+) acetate (C2H3O2-)
copper(I) (Cu+) azide (N3-)
hydrogen (H+) chlorate (ClO3-)
silver (Ag+) cyanide (CN-)
  dihydrogen phosphate (H2PO4-)
2+ hydride (H-)
cadmium (Cd2+) bicarbonate (HCO3-)
cobalt(II) (Co2+) hydroxide (OH-)
copper(II) (Cu2+) nitrate (NO3-)
iron (Fe2+) nitrite (NO2-)
lead (Pb2+) perchlorate (ClO4-)
manganese(II) (Mn2+) permanganate (MnO4-)
mercury(I) (Hg22+) thiocyanate(SCN-)
 mercury(II) (Hg2+)  
nickel (Ni2+) 2-
tin (Sn2+) carbonate (CO32-)
zinc (Zn2+) chromate (CrO42-)
  dichromate (Cr2O72-)
3+ hydrogen phosphate (HPO42-)
aluminum (Al3+) oxide (O2-)
chromium(III) (Cr3+) peroxide (O22-)
iron(III) (Fe3+) sulfate (SO42-)
  sulfide (S2-)
  sulfite (SO32-)
  3-
  nitride (N3-)
  phosphate (PO43-)
  phosphide (P3-)

Naming Ionic Compounds

The outline below provides the rules for naming ionic compounds:

Positive Ions

1. Monatomic cations (a single atom with a positive charge) take the name of the element plus the word "ion"

Examples:
o Na+ = sodium ion
o Zn+2 = zinc ion

2. If an element can form more than one (1) positive ion, the charge is indicated by the Roman numeral in parentheses followed by the word
"ion"

Examples:
o Fe2+ = iron(II) ion
o Fe3+ = iron (III) ion

Negative Ions

1. Monatomic anions (a single atom with a negative charge) change their ending to "-ide"

Examples:
o O2- = oxide ion
o Cl- = chloride ion

2. Oxoanions (negatively charged polyatomic ions which contain O) end in "-ate". However, if there is more than one oxyanion for a specific
element then the endings are:

Two less oxygen than One more oxygen than

One less oxygen than the
the most common starts THE MOST COMMON OXOANION ENDS the most common
most common ends with "-
with "hypo-" and ends WITH "-ATE" starts with "per-" and
ite"
with "-ite" ends with "-ate"
ClO- = hypochlorite o ClO2-  Most common oxyanions Most common oxyanions ClO4- = perchlorate
 with four oxygens with three oxygens
= chlorite
o NO2- = o SO42-  o NO3- 
nitrite = sulfate = nitrate
o SO32-  o PO43-  o ClO3- 
= sulfite = phosphate = chlorate
o CrO42 o CO32- 
-
 = chromate = carbonate

3.

4. Polyatomic anions (a negatively charged ion containing more than one type of element) often add a hydrogen atom; in this case, the anion's
name either adds "hydrogen-" or "bi-" to the beginning

Example:
CO32- becomes HCO3-
"Carbonate" becomes either "Hydrogen Carbonate" or "Bicarbonate"

5. When combining cations and anions into an ionic compound, you always put the cation name first and then the anion name (the molecular
formulas are also written in this order as well.)

Examples:
o Na+ + Cl- --> NaCl
sodium + chloride --> sodium chloride
o Cu2+ + SO42- -->CuSO4
copper(II) + sulfate --> copper(II) sulfate
o Al3+ + 3NO3- --> Al(NO3)3
aluminum + nitrate --> aluminum nitrate

Arrangement of Atoms

In naming ions, it is important to consider "isomers." Isomers are compounds with the same molecular formula, but different arrangements of atoms.
Thus, it is important to include some signal within the name of the ion that identifies which arrangement you are talking about. There are three main
types of classification, geometric, optical and structural isomers.

1. Geometric isomers refers to which side of the ion atoms lie. The prefixes used to distinguish geometric isomers are cis meaning
substituents lie on the same side of the ion andtrans meaning they lie on opposite sides. Below is a diagram to help you remember.

2. Optical isomers differ in the arrangement of four groups around a chiral carbon. These two isomers are differentiated as L and D.
 3. Structural isomers differentiate between the placement of two chlorine atoms around a hexagonal carbon ring. These three isomers are
identified as o, m, and p. Once again we have given you a few clues to help your memory.

A pop-up nomenclature calculator is available for help when naming compounds and for practice problems.

Naming Binary Molecular Compounds

Molecular compounds are formed from the covalent bonding between non-metallic elements. The nomenclature for these compounds is described in
the following set of rules.

1. The more positive atom is written first (the atom which is the furthest to the left and to the bottom of the periodic table)
2. The more negative second atom has an "-ide" ending.
3. Each prefix indicates the number of each atom present in the compound.

Number of Atoms Prefix Number of Atoms Prefix

1 mono 6 hexa
2 di 7 hepta
3 tri 8 octa
4 tetra 9 nona
5 penta 10 deca

4.
Examples:
CO2 = carbon dioxide
P4S10 = tetraphosphorus decasulfide
Naming Inorganic Acids

1. Binary acids (H plus a nonmetal element) are acids that dissociate into hydrogen atoms and anions in water. Acids that only release one
hydrogen atom are known as monoprotic.Those acids that release more than one hydrogen atom are called polyproticacids. When naming
these binary acids, you merely add "hydro-" (denoting the presence of a hydrogen atom) to the beginning and "-ic acid" to the end of the
anion name.

Examples:
HCl = hydrochloric acid
HBr = hydrobromic acid 
2. Ternary acids (also called oxoacids, are formed by hydrogen plus another element plus oxygen) are based on the name of the anion. In this
case, the -ate, and -ite suffixes for the anion are replaced with -ic and -ous respectively. The new anion name is then followed by the word
"acid." The chart below depicts the changes in nomenclature.

Anion name Acid name

hypo___ite hypo___ous acid
___ite ___ous acid
___ate ___ic acid
per___ate per___ic acid

3.
Example:
ClO4- to HClO4 => perchlorate to perchloric acid
ClO- to HClO => hypochlorite to hypochlorous acid

Naming Compounds

A detailed treatise on naming organic compounds is beyond the scope of these materials, but some basics are presented. The wise chemistry student
should consider memorizing the prefixes of the first ten organic compounds:
Number of Carbons Prefix
1 meth-
2 eth-
3 prop-
4 but-
5 pent-
6 hex-
7 hept-
8 oct-
9 non-
10 dec-
There are four basic types of organic hydrocarbons, those chemicals with only carbon and hydrogen:

1. Single bonds (alkane): suffix is "ane", formula CnH2n+2

2. Double bonds (alkene): suffix is "ene", formula CnH2n
3. Triple bonds (alkyne): suffix is "yne", formula CnH2n-2
4. Cyclic compounds: use prefix "cyclo"

So, for example, an organic compound with the formula "C6H14" would be recognized as an alkane with six carbons, so its name is
"hexane".

Examples:
N2O4 = dinitrogen tetraoxide
S2F10 = disulfur decafluoride

Practice Problems
 Find the formulas of the following molecules:

1. aluminum fluoride 8. ammonium dichromate

2. carbon tetrachloride 9. magnesium acetate
3. strontium nitrate 10. zinc hydroxide
4. sodium bisulfate 11. nitric acid
5. iron(III) oxide 12. hypochlorous acid
6. mercury(II) nitrate 13. phosphoric acid
7. sodium sulfite 14. aluminum nitrate

Write the names of the following molecules:

1. CaCO3 8. Mg3(PO4)2
2. SCl2 9. Ba(NO2)2
3. Li2CrO4 10. Hg2Cl2
4. NaSCN 11. NaHCO3
5. KClO3 12. H2S
6. Ca(C2H3O2)2 13. H2SO3
7. K2Cr2O7 14. SO3

Nomenclature Name-to-Formula Solutions

The key to solving these correctly is knowing the charges on the ions and correctly placing them together. For example, in Problem 1,
aluminum has a +3 charge while fluoride has a -1 charge. To make the charges balance, we must have three fluorides for every
aluminum. The other problems follow the same logic. Problems 12 and 13 are acids so they must be dealt with in a slightly different
way.
 1. aluminum fluroide: AlF3
2. carbon tetracloride: CCl4
3. strontium nitrate: Sr(NO3)2
4. sodium bisulfate: Na HSO4
5. iron (III) oxide: Fe2O3
6. mercury (II) nitrate: Hg(NO3)2
7. sodium sulfite: Na2SO3
8. ammonium dichromate: (NH4)2Cr2O7
9. magnesium acetate: Mg(C2H3O2)2
10. zinc hydroxide: Zn(OH)2
11. nitric acid: HNO3
12. hypochlorous acid: HClO
13. phosphoric acid: H3PO4
14. aluminum nitrate: Al(NO3)3

II

Nomenclature Formula-to-Name Solutions

The key to solving these types of problems correctly is first determining whether the molecule is ionic or molecular. If it consists of
two nonmetals, then it is molecular like numbers 2 and 14. In these cases, we must use the prefixes. In the others, we simply use the
ionic compound rules to find the names.

1. CaCO3: calcium carbonate

2. SCl2: sulfur dichloride
3. Li2CrO4: lithium chromate
4. NaSCN: sodium thiocyanate
5. KClO3: potassium chlorate
6. Ca(C2H3O2): calcium acetate
7. K2Cr2O7: potassium dichromate
8. Mg3(PO4)2: magnesium phosphate
9. Ba(NO2)2: barium nitrate
10. Hg2Cl2: mercury(I) chloride
11. NaHCO3: sodium bicarbonate
12. H2S: hydrosulfuric acid
13. H2SO3: sulfurous acid
14. SO3: sulfur trioxide