UNIT 4 - Naming & Formulas 4.1 Naming Binary Compounds 4.1.

d Roman Numerals
(QUIZ 4)

Quiz 4 - Roman Numerals

Recall: • Group 1 metals (alkali metals) have a charge of 1+

• Group 2 metals (alkaline earth metals) have a charge of 2+

• These metals are referred to as monovalent meaning they have only 1 (mono)
possible charge.

• The other monovalent metals are: the group 3 metals: Sc3+, Y3+ , Lu3+ , Lr3+
+
Ag
2+
Zn , Cd2+
3+ 3+ 3+
Al , Ga , In

New: • Almost all other metals (including the transition metals, lanthanides, actinides and the
“other metals” under the staircase) can have more than one possible charge.

• We refer to these metals as multivalent meaning they can have many (multi) possible
charges.

• We will recognize these metals because they are shaded GREY on our periodic table and
we will refer to this as the GREY ZONE

• In some colour resources, I’ve shown this as the “RED ZONE”, so if you see “RED ZONE” it
means the same as “GREY ZONE”

The metals that have more than one charge are shaded dark grey.
(Metalloids are in light grey).
+1 +2 +3 –3 –2 –1

+3
Don’t worry
+2 +3 the end of the
7th period.
+1 +2 +3 Remember
these
elements are
unstable and
don’t last
long enough
to do things
like form
compounds.
UNIT 4 - Naming & Formulas 4.1 Naming Binary Compounds 4.1.d Roman Numerals
(QUIZ 4)

Metals in the RED ZONE (GREY ZONE) will require a ROMAN NUMERAL in the name in order to let
you know the CHARGE of the multivalent metal.

For example, iron can have a charge of +2 or +3. We write the names of these ions as:

2+
Fe = iron (II) Fe3+ = iron (III)

Steps to find the roman numeral from the formula

① Write out all the ions (correct number of each).

② Find the charge of the negative ion

③ Find the total negative charge

④ The total positive charge is EQUAL TO the total negative charge

⑤ Divide up the total positive charge among all the cations.

⑥ The charge on a single cation is the roman numeral

Ex. Fe2O3 ① Write out all the ions: Fe O

Fe O
O

② Find charge of negative ion: Charge of oxide is –2 (O2–)

③ Find total negative charge: Fe O2–

2–
Fe O (2–) + (2–) + (2–) = 6–
2–
O

④ Total pos. charge = total neg. charge ! Total pos. charge = 6+

⑤ Divide up the total positive charge among all the cations.

The 6+ is being spread out onto 2 Fe’s,

3+ 2–
Fe O
3+
Fe O2–
___ O2–
6+ 6–
! each Fe has a 3+ charge.

3+
⑥ The charge on a single cation is the roman numeral: Fe ! iron (III)

! iron (III) oxide

UNIT 4 - Naming & Formulas 4.1 Naming Binary Compounds 4.1.d Roman Numerals
(QUIZ 4)

Ex. Cu3N2 1. Write out all the ions: Cu N

Cu N
Cu

2. Find charge of neg. ion: Charge of nitride is –3 (N3–)

3. Find total neg. charge: Cu N3–

(3–) + (3–) = 6–
Cu N3–
Cu

4. Total pos. charge = total neg charge ∴ Total pos. charge = 6+

5. Spread total positive charge out onto the cations:

The 6+ is being spread out onto 3 Cu’s

Cu2+ N3–
Cu2+ N3–
Cu2+ ____
6+ 6–
! each Cu has a 2+ charge.

6. The charge on a single cation is the roman numeral: Cu2+ ! (II)

! copper (II) nitride

NOTES: ① The roman numeral tells you the CHARGE of the cation, NOT the number of
copper ions.

So Cu3N2 is copper (II) nitride (as shown above), NOT copper (III) nitride

② How do you know the charge of the negative ion?

Halogens Group 17: –1 (has 7 valence e– ∴ gains 1e– to have 8)

Oxygen Group Group 16: –2 (has 6 valence e– ∴ gains 2e– to have 8)
Nitrogen Group Group 15: –3 (has 5 valence e– ∴ gains 3e– to have 8)

③ Here are your roman numerals, if you’ve forgotten them!

I II III IV V VI VII
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
UNIT 4 - Naming & Formulas 4.1 Naming Binary Compounds 4.1.d Roman Numerals
(QUIZ 4)

Ex. PbS2 1. Write out all the ions: Pb S

S

2. Find charge of neg. ion: Charge of sulphide is –2 (S2–)

3. Find total neg. charge: Pb S2–

(2–) + (2–) = 4–
S2–

4. Total pos. charge = total neg. charge ! Total pos. charge = 4+

5. Spread total pos. charge out onto the cations: There is only 1 Pb, ! it has a 4+ charge

The 4+ rests all on the 1 Pb Pb4+ S2–

S2–
_____
4+ 4–

6. The charge on a single cation is the roman numeral: Pb4+ ! lead (IV)

! lead (IV) sulphide

Ex. Mn3P4 1. Write out all the ions: Mn P

Mn P
Mn P
P

2. Find charge of neg. ion: Charge of phosphide is –3 (P3–)

3. Find total neg. charge: Mn P3–

Mn P3– (3–) × 4 = 12–
Mn P3–
P3–

4. Total pos. charge = total neg charge ∴ Total pos. charge = 12+

5. Spread total positive charge out onto the cations:

Since there are 3 Mn, the charge on each one must be 4+

Mn4+ P3–
Mn4+ P3–
Mn4+ P3–
P3–
12+ 12–

6. The charge on a single cation is the roman numeral: Mn4+ ! IV

! manganese (IV) phosphide

UNIT 4 - Naming & Formulas 4.1 Naming Binary Compounds 4.1.d Roman Numerals
(QUIZ 4)

Exercises: Name the following compounds. Do write out all the ions…I left space.

1. FeCl3 2. Cu2S

3. HgI2 4. CrN

5. V2O3 6. Ni3P2

7. CuF 8. AuI3
UNIT 4 - Naming & Formulas 4.1 Naming Binary Compounds 4.1.d Roman Numerals
(QUIZ 4)

9. Pb3N4 10. MnO3

11. SnO 12. Hg2S

13. CoBr3 14. CrF3

15. Mn2S5 16. Hg2Cl2

Answers:
1. iron (III) chloride 2. copper (I) sulphide
3. mercury (II) iodide 4. chromium (III) nitride
5. vanadium (III) oxide 6. nickel (II) phosphide
7. copper (I) fluoride 8. gold (III) iodide
9. lead (IV) nitride 10. manganese (VI) oxide
11. tin (II) oxide 12. mercury (II) sulphide
13. cobalt (III) bromide 14. chromium (III) fluoride
15. manganese (V) sulphide 16. mercury (I) chloride