Writing and Naming Chemical Formula

Download as docx, pdf, or txt
Download as docx, pdf, or txt
You are on page 1of 8

Chapter 6-Chemical Formula and Formula Writing

CHEMICAL FORMULA AND FORMULA WRITING

A chemical formula is a combination of symbols elements and a

Subscript that is used to show the composition of a compound. It can either


be an ionic compound or molecular compound. Lonic Compounds are
composed of charged elements that held together by electrostatic forces.

6.1 Types of ionic Compounds

1. Binary Compounds is made up of two elements. A metallic positive ions


(cations) and a non-metal negative ions (anions).
Example: Na2S – Sodium Sulfide
2. Ternary Compound is made up of monatomic ions and a polyatomic
ions (radical) (group of atomic which acts as a single unit)
Example: CaCO3 - Calcium Carbonate

When dealing with ionic formulas it is very important to remember that


the formula does not show how the compound actually exists in nature.
It only shows the ratio by which the individual ions combine. For
example, the ionic formula for calcium chloride is CaCl₂. Since calcium
chloride is an ionic compound, this formula does not mean that there
are actually two chlorine atoms floating around attached to one
calcium atom. Ionic compounds are actually continuous, lacking the
discrete units that make up a sample of a molecular substance. Rather,
the formula shows that a sample of calcium chloride contains twice as
many chlorine atoms as calcium atoms. Remember that lonic
compounds are not molecules, so the formula Cach is said to represent
one formula unit of calcium chloride.

Molecular compounds are held together by covalent bonds, or shared


pairs of electrons. Molecular formula shows these molecules as they
exists as discrete units in nature. Molecular formula of water is H₂O, we
can see that the molecules of water are made up of three atoms, two
hydrogen atoms are covalently bonded to each oxygen atom. A special
type of chemical formula, called an empirical formula, shows the
composition of a molecule not as it actually exists, but in a simple
whole number ratio.
Structural formula specifies which atoms are bonded to each other in a
molecule.
Example: H-O-H Or H2O

This lesson will concentrate on writing simple chemical formulas when


given a formula name. In learning how to write chemical formulas, you
will make use of the oxidation numbers that you learned about.

6.2 Formula Writing

The formula writing is easy as long as you know the symbol of the
elements and charges of the polyatomic ions. Most important, the sum
of the oxidation number must equal to zero in order to form a neutral
compound.

The simplified method of writing formula is by “criss-cross method”.

Rules for naming Ionic compounds

1. Write first, the symbol of the positive ion or polyatomic ion followed
by the symbol of the negative ion or polyatomic ion.
Example: Na + Cl =

2. The oxidation Number of the positive ions becomes the subscript of


the negative ions
Example :

3. No need to criss-cross if the oxidation number is numerically equal,


since the sum of the oxidation number is equal to zero.

Example: Li + Br »»»» LiBr

4. If the subscript is 1 it is not written.


5. If the subscript of the polyatomic ion is more than 1, parenthesis
must be used.

Example: Pb + NO3 »»»»»» Pb(NO3)4


6. Subscript should always be reduced to the whole number ratio.

Example : Sn + O → SnO4 (incorrect)


→ SnO2 ( correct)

List of Common Polyatomic fons and their Charges


6.3 Naming Compounds
The IUPAC nomenclature of Inorganic chemistry is a systematic
method of naming inorganic chemical compounds as recommended
by the Internal Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). Ideally,
every inorganic compound should have a name from which an
unambiguous formula can be determined.

Ionic Compounds

Binary compounds. A compounds composed of metal and non-


metal,
1. Single atom anions are named with an -ide

Example: H – Hydride
O – Oxide

2. Positively charged ions are called cations and negatively


charged ions are called anions.

3. The named of the metal or positive polyatomic ion is always


named followed by the name first of the non-metal or negative
polyatomic ion. The positive ion retains its element name
whereas for a single non-metal anion. The ending is changed to-
ide.
Example:
NaCl – Sodium chloride
KO – Potassium oxide
Cafa – calcium fluoride
BaF – Barium fluoride

4. When the metal has no more than possible lonic charge on


oxidation number the name becomes ambiguous. The classical
method or stock method of naming may be used.

Metals that Form More than One lon


Stock Method:

In these Method that oxidation number of the metal ion is represented


by a Roman Numeral in parenthesis immediately following the English
name of the metal ion used.

Example:

FeO – Iron (II) Oxide

Fe2O3 – Iron (III) Oxide

Classical Method:

In these method for lower oxidation number metal ion ends in – lons
and for higher oxidation number metal ions ends in -ic,

Example:

FeO – Ferrous Oxide

Fe2O3 – Ferric Oxide

5. For Temary Compounds Ternary compounds are composed of


three different elements, the most common types of ternary
compounds consists of a metallic cation (positive ion) and a
polyatomic anion (negative ion). To name a ternary compound,
the metal ion is named first followed by the stem name of the
negative polyatomic ion which ends in-ate for higher number of
oxygen-ite for lower oxidation number used number of oxygen.
Example:
NaPO4-sodium phosphate
Na3PO3-sodium phosphite

6.4 Molecular Compounds

1. Molecular Compounds composed of two non-metals. When a


pair of non-metal ions form more than one type of covalent
compound, Greek prefixes are used to indicate how many of
each non-metal ions are in a compound. The more
electronegative non-metal ions is written last and ends in-ide.

Example:
CO- Carbon monoxide
CO2 -Carbon dioxide
BF4 - Boron tetra fluoride

2. If the number of atom of the first non-metal ions is more than


I the Greek prefixes is used,
Example:
N₂O → dinitrogen monoxide
N₂O3 → dinitrogen trioxide
B3Cl4 → diboron tetrachloride

3. Oxyanions are those polyatomic anions containing oxygen.


There are a large number of oxyanions, which makes it
difficult to remember all of their names. The rules for naming
oxyanions.
a. The ending-ate is used for the most common oxyanion
of a given element.
Example:

b. The ending-ile us used for the oxyanion with the same


chorge, but one less oxygen than the-ate oxyanion,
c. The prefix per- is used if there is an oxyanion with the
same charge but one more oxygen the -ate oxyanion,
while the prefix hypo- is used if there is an oxyanion
with the same charge but one less oxygen than the -ite
oxyanion.

4. Acid a simplistic definition of an acid is a compound that


dissolves in water to release Htions. The most common acids
are those which result when we added enough H+ ions to an
oxyanion to balance its charge.

For binary acids, when the anions ends in -ide change to – ic


and add the prefix hydro before the name of the negative ion,
then, add the word acid to derive the name of the acid.

5. For Oxyacid, acids with oxygen, when the anion or the


polyatomic ion ends in - ate, change to - ic; if it ends on - ite,
change it to -00 Then add the word acid to derive the name of
the acid. The hydro – prefix is omitted.

a. When the anion ends in ate, change to ic to derive the


name of the acid

b. When the anion ends in ite, Change the ending to -ous


to derive the name of the acid.

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy