NAMING COMPOUNDS

The process of naming compounds allows chemists to communicate formulae in words rather than in
chemical symbols. There are, however, a few rules about naming compounds which need to be known in
order to write a formula in word form or translate a compound in word form into chemical symbols.

Ionic compounds
If the compound is ionic, then the name of the cation (usually metal) comes first, followed by the
'compound' name of the anion. To find the compound name of an anion, replace the end of the element's
name with 'ide'.

name of cation + name of anion, suffix 'ide'

E.g. NaCl: sodium, the cation, first, followed by chlorine changed with the suffix 'ide' = sodium chloride

If the anion is polyatomic and contains oxygen, then the suffix is 'ate'.

name of cation + name of polyatomic oxygen anion, suffix 'ate'

E.g. Na2CO3: sodium, the cation, first, followed by a polyatomic group containing carbon and oxygen to
form carbonate = sodium carbonate

Note:
E.g. MgO: magnesium, the cation, first, followed by oxygen changed with the suffix 'ide' because oxygen
is the sole ion and not part of a polyatomic group = magnesium oxide

Sometimes if the compound contains hydrogen, the word 'hydrogen' shortens to 'bi' such as with
NaHCO3, which is known as sodium hydrogen carbonate or sodium bicarbonate.

Hydrogen compounds
If the compound contains hydrogen and a metal, the metal comes first, followed by the word 'hydride', to
denote the hydrogen component.

metal + hydride

E.g. NaH: sodium, the metal, first, followed by hydrogen changed with the suffix 'ide' = sodium hydride

If the compound contains hydrogen and a non-metal and does not contain water (H2O), then the
hydrogen comes first, followed by the element's name replaced with the 'ide' suffix.

hydrogen + non-metal, suffix 'ide'

E.g. HF: hydrogen first, followed by fluorine changed with the suffix 'ide' = hydrogen fluoride

If the hydrogen non-metal compound dissolves in water, it starts with the 'hydro' prefix, followed by the
element's name replaced with an 'ic' suffix, followed by 'acid'.

hydro(name of element, suffix 'ic') acid

E.g. HCl: hydro, then chlorine with an 'ic' suffix, then 'acid' = hydrochloric acid

Oxygen compounds
When naming ionic compounds that contain oxygen the basic rule is similar. If the compound contains
hydrogen and an oxygen anion (oxyanion) and does not contain water, then hydrogen comes first,
followed by the element name with the suffix 'ate'.
hydrogen + element, suffix 'ate'

E.g. HCO3: hydrogen followed by carbon with the suffix 'ate' = hydrogen carbonate

The 'ate' rule is used for the most common or the only compound made with an oxyanion. Some
compounds, however, form more than one type of compound with oxygen and the amount of oxygen will
affect the prefixes and suffixes used. This occurs for all oxyanions, with or without hydrogen involved.

Table 1.1: Naming more than one type of oxygen compound

Oxygen level Prefix Suffix

A little oxygen hypo- -ite

Some oxygen -ite

Element

More oxygen -ate

A lot of oxygen per- -ate

E.g. Chlorine forms four different oxyanions named:

ClO = hypochlorite

ClO2 = chlorite

ClO3 = chlorate

ClO4 = perchlorate

The oxygen level corresponds with the relative amounts in different compounds and not necessarily the
specific numbers of oxygen atoms. If an element forms just two types of oxyanion compounds, then the
suffixes 'ite' and 'ate' will suffice.

If the hydrogen oxyanion compound is dissolved in water, it forms an acid using similar rules, only the
'ite' suffix changes to 'ous' and the 'ate' suffix changes to 'ic', followed by the word 'acid'.

Table 1.2: Naming more than one type of hydrogen oxyanion acid

Oxygen level Prefix Suffix

A little oxygen hypo- -ous

Some oxygen -ous

Element Acid

More oxygen -ic

A lot of oxygen per- -ic

E.g. The above example with chlorine and oxygen plus hydrogen:
HClO = hypochlorous acid

HClO2 = chlorous acid

HClO3 = chloric acid

HClO4 = perchloric acid

Covalent compounds
If a compound contains two non-metals in a covalent bond, then:

 the least electronegative element is named first

 if the compound contains hydrogen, hydrogen is named first

 the number of atoms of each element is indicated by a prefix

 if the first element only has one atom the prefix is not used

 the name of the element has the suffix 'ide'

least electronegative + number prefix, most electronegative element, suffix 'ide'

The prefixes used to number the atoms come from Greek and are as follows:

1 = mono- or mon- 6 = hexa-

2 = di- 7 = hepta-
3 = tri- 8 = octa-
4 = tetra- 9 = nona-
5 = penta- 10 = deca-

E.g. CO: carbon, the least electronegative atom, first, followed by the prefix 'mon' to indicate one atom of
oxygen, the most electronegative atom, with the suffix 'ide' = carbon monoxide

CO2 carbon, the least electronegative atom, first, followed by the prefix 'di' to indicate two atoms of
oxygen, the most electronegative atom, with the suffix 'ide' = carbon dioxide
H2O the prefix 'di' to indicate two atoms of hydrogen, which has naming priority, followed by 'mon' to
indicate one atom of oxygen = dihydrogen monoxide

Common names
There are a number of common names that chemists like to use instead of the proper scientific names.
Most common names and formulae are well-known. It is recommended that common names and
formulae be written down as they are encountered so they can be memorised later.

Here are a few examples:

Common name Proper name Chemical formula

water dihydrogen monoxide H2O

baking soda sodium hydrogen NaHCO3
carbonate

table salt sodium chloride NaCl

limestone calcium carbonate CaCO3

quartz silicon dioxide SiO2

--. (--). Naming Compounds. Marzo 30, 2017, de Skwirk Online education Sitio web:
http://www.skwirk.com/p-c_s-4_u-107_t-285_c-953/naming-compounds/nsw/naming-
compounds/introducing-chemistry/compounds-and-reactions