Naming of Compounds

Generally, there are two types of inorganic compounds that can be formed: ionic compounds
and molecular compounds. Nomenclature is the process of naming chemical compounds with
different names so that they can be easily identified as separate chemicals. Inorganic compounds
are compounds that do not deal with the formation of carbohydrates, or simply all other
compounds that do not fit into the description of an organic compound. For example, organic
compounds include molecules with carbon rings and/or chains with hydrogen atoms. Inorganic
compounds, the topic of this section, are every other molecule that does not include these
distinctive carbon and hydrogen structures.

Naming Ions

Compounds made of a metal and nonmetal are commonly known as Ionic

Compounds, where the compound name has an ending of –ide. Cations have
positive charges while anions have negative charges. The net charge of any ionic
compound must be zero which also means it must be electrically neutral. For
example, one Na is paired with one Cl; one Ca is paired with two Br. There are
two rules that must be followed through:

The cation (metal) is always named first with its name unchanged.
The anion (nonmetal) is written after the cation, modified to end in –ide.

Table 1. Cations and Anions

+1 Charge +2 Charge -1 Charge -2 Charge -3Charge -4Charge
(Group 1A (Group 2A (Group 7A (Group 6A (Group 5A (Group 4A
elements) elements) elements) elements) elements) elements)
+
Hydrogen: H Beryllium: Hydride: H Oxide: O2-
-
Nitride: N3- Carbide:
Lithium: Li+ Be2+ Fluoride: F- Sulfide: S2- Phosphide: C4-
Sodium: Na+ Magnesium: Chloride: Cl-
+
P3-
Potassium: K Mg2+ Bromide:
Rubidium: Rb+ Calcium: Ca 2+ Br-
+
Cesium: Cs Strontium: Sr2+ Iodide: I
-

Barium: Ba2+

Example 1:
Na+ + Cl- = NaCl; Ca2+ + 2Br- = CaBr2
Sodium + Chlorine = Sodium Chloride; Calcium + Bromide = Calcium Bromide
The transition metals may form more than one ion, thus it is needed to be
specified which particular ion we are talking about. This is indicated by
assigning a Roman numeral after the metal. The Roman numeral denotes the
charge and the oxidation state of the transition metal ion. For example, iron can
form two common ions, Fe2+ and Fe3+. To distinguish the difference, Fe2+ would
be named iron (II) and Fe3+ would be named iron (III).

Table 2. Transition Metal and Metal Cations

+1 Charge +2 Charge +3 Charge +4 Charge
+ 2+
Copper(I): Cu Copper(II): Cu Aluminum: Al3+ Lead(IV): Pb4+
Silver: Ag+ Iron(II): Fe2+ Iron(III): Fe3+ Tin(IV): Sn4+
Cobalt(II): Co2+ Cobalt(III): Co3+
2+
Tin(II): Sn
Lead(II): Pb2+
Nickel: Ni2+
Zinc: Zn2+

Example 2:

Ions: Fe2++ 2Cl- Fe3++ 3Cl-

Compound: FeCl2 FeCl3
Nomenclature Iron (II) Chloride Iron (III) Chloride

However, some of the transition metals' charges have specific Latin

names. Just like the other nomenclature rules, the ion of the transition metal
that has the lower charge has the Latin name ending with -ous and the one with
the higher charge has a Latin name ending with -ic. The most common ones are
shown in the table below:

Table 3. Transition Metal Ion with Roman Numeral and its Latin Name
Transition Metal Ion with Latin name
Roman Numeral
Copper (I): Cu+ Cuprous
2+
Copper (II): Cu Cupric
2+
Iron (II): Fe Ferrous
3+
Iron (III): Fe Ferric
2+
Lead (II): Pb Plumbous
4+
Lead (IV): Pb Plumbic
Mercury (I): Hg 2+ Mercurous
Mercury (II): Hg2+ Mercuric
2+
Tin (II): Sn Stannous
4+
Tin (IV): Sn Stannic

Several exceptions apply to the Roman numeral assignment: Aluminum,

Zinc, and Silver. Although they belong to the transition metal category, these
metals do not have Roman numerals written after their names because these
metals only exist in one ion. Instead of using Roman numerals, the different
ions can also be presented in plain words. The metal is changed to end in –ous or
–ic.
-ous ending is used for the lower oxidation state.
-ic ending is used for the higher oxidation state
Example 3:

Compound Cu2O CuO FeCl2 FeCl3

Charge Charge of Charge of copper Charge of iron is Charge of iron is
copper is +1 is +2 +2 +3
Nomenclature Cuprous Oxide Cupric Oxide Ferrous Chloride Ferric Chloride

However, this -ous/-ic system is inadequate in some cases, so the Roman

numeral system is preferred. This system is used commonly in naming acids,
where H2SO4 is commonly known as Sulfuric Acid, and H2SO3 is known as
Sulfurous Acid.

Naming Covalent Compound

Compounds that consist of a nonmetal bonded to a nonmetal are
commonly known as Molecular Compounds, where the element with the
positive oxidation state is written first. In many cases, nonmetals form more than
one binary compound, so prefixes are used to distinguish them.

No. of 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Atoms
Prefixes mono- di- tri- tetra- penta- hexa- hepta- octa- nona- deca-

Example:

CO = carbon monoxide BCl3 = boron trichloride

CO2 = carbon dioxide N2O5 =dinitrogen pentoxide

Naming Acids

Although HF can be named hydrogen fluoride, it is given a different

name for emphasis that it is an acid. An acid is a substance that dissociates into
hydrogen ions (H+) and anions in water. A quick way to identify acids is to see if
there is an H (denoting hydrogen) in front of the molecular formula of the
compound. To name acids, the prefix hydro- is placed in front of the nonmetal
modified to end with –ic. The state of acids is aqueous (aq) because acids are
found in water.

Some common binary acids include:

HF (g) = hydrogen fluoride -> HF (aq) = hydrofluoric acid

HBr (g) = hydrogen bromide -> HBr (aq) = hydrobromic acid
HCl (g) = hydrogen chloride -> HCl (aq) = hydrochloric acid
H2S (g) = hydrogen sulfide -> H2S (aq) = hydrosulfuric acid

It is important to include (aq) after the acids because the same

compounds can be written in the gas phase with hydrogen named first followed
by the anion ending with –ide.

Oxy or Ternary Acids

The name of the radicals which end in ate is changed to ic and the word acid is
added.
The name of the radicals which end in ite is changed to ous and the word acid is
added.

Examples:
HNO2 Nitrous acid
H2SO4 Sulfuric acid

Rules for Naming Ionic Compounds Containing Polyatomic Ions

Polyatomic ions are ions which consist of more than one atom. For
example, nitrate ion, NO3-, contains one nitrogen atom and three oxygen atoms.
The atoms in a polyatomic ion are usually covalently bonded to one another, and
therefore stay together as a single, charged unit.

Rule 1. The cation is written first in the name; the anion is written second in the
name.

Rule 2. When the formula unit contains two or more of the same polyatomic ion,
that ion is written in parentheses with the subscript written outside the
parentheses.

Note: parentheses and a subscript are not used unless more than one of a
polyatomic ion is present in the formula unit (e.g., the formula unit for calcium
sulfate is "CaSO4" not "Ca(SO4)").
 Activity 1

Directions:

Name the following ionic compounds in Part I and write the chemical
formula of the compounds in Part II. Write your answer on the space provided.
Part I. Chemical formula to chemical name

1. LiBr _____________6. BaI2 _______________________

2. KI_______________________ 7. KBr ___________________
3. CaBr2______________________8.MgI2_____________________
4. CaCl2______________________9.BaBr2____________________
5. MgCl2_________________ 10. Na2S
_______________________

Part II. Chemical name to chemical formula

1. Sodium iodide _____________________________

2. Calcium bromide _____________________________
3. Iron (II) sulfide _____________________________
4. Potassium oxide _____________________________

5. Calcium iodide ___________________________________________

Activity 2 Naming Covalent Compound

Name the following covalent compounds in Part I and write the chemical
formula of the compounds in Part II. Write your answer on the space provided.
Part I. Chemical formula to chemical name

1. CBr4 _________________6. CS2 _______________________

2. NO2 _________________7. SiCl4 _______________________
 3. N2O4____________________8.SO3
_______________________
4. SF4 __________________9.NO
_______________________
5. P2O5 ________________10.Na2O3 _______________________

Part II. Chemical name to chemical formula

Rule 3. If the cation is a metal ion with a fixed charge, the name of the cation is the same as the
(neutral) element from which it is derived (e.g., Na+ = "sodium"). If the cation is a metal ion
with a variable charge, the charge on the cation is indicated using a Roman numeral, in
parentheses, immediately following the name of the cation (e.g., Fe3+ = "iron(III)").

Rule 4. If the anion is a monatomic ion, the anion is named by adding the suffix -
ide to the root of the element name (e.g., I- = "iodide").

Note: Greek prefixes are not used to indicate the number of atoms, or polyatomic
ions, in the formula unit for the compound (e.g., Ca(NO 3)2 is named "calcium
nitrate" not "calciuim dinitrate").

Activity 2
Compounds given their formula and write formula given the name of the compound
1. Hydrogen chloride _____________________________
2. Carbon dioxide _____________________________
3. Sulfur dioxide _____________________________
4. Carbon monoxide _____________________________
5. Sulfur trioxide ___________________________________________

Activity 3 Naming Acids and Polyatomic Ions

Name the following acids and polyatomic ions in Part I and write the chemical formula of the
acids and polyatomic ions in Part II. Write your answer on the space provided.
Part I. Chemical formula to chemical name
1. SO4-2 ______________________________
2. HNO2 ______________________________
3. H2SO4 ______________________________
4. H2SO3 ______________________________
5. C₂H₃O₂ -¹ ______________________________
Part II. Chemical name to chemical formula

1. Hydroiodic acid _____________________________

2. Phosphate _____________________________
3. Nitrous acid _____________________________
4. Hydrofluoric acid _____________________________
5. Ammonium _____________________________

Calculate Molecular Formula Given Molar Mass

Chemists rarely work with small numbers of atoms and molecules. They usually work on a scale
of moles. The term molar mass is simply defined as a mass in grams/mol which is numerically
equal to the substances’ formula mass or average atomic mass. Each element has a unique molar
mass. If you look at the periodic table, oxygen has an atomic mass of 16.0 while carbon has a
molar mass of 12.01. To calculate for the molar mass of a given compound, simply add the
atomic masses of each element in a given formula unit of the compound.
Carbon dioxide is one of the waste products of animals which is essential to plants in order to
carry out photosynthesis. One mole of CO2 consists of one mole of carbon atom and two moles
of oxygen atom. The mass of Carbon and oxygen in one mole of CO2 is computed as:
Mass of C= 1 mole x 12.01 g/mole C= 12.01 grams
Mass of O = 2 moles x 16.0 g/mole O= 32.0 grams
Therefore, the molar mass of Carbon dioxide is: Molar mass= 12.01 grams + 32.0 grams= 44.01
grams
There are two types of chemical formula that you have to remember- molecular and empirical.
By definition, a molecular formula gives the actual number of each kind of atom present in a
molecule of the compound. For example, glucose has the molecular formula C6H12O6. The
actual number of Carbon, Hydrogen and Oxygen atoms in one molecule of C6H12O6 as shown
by the subscript in the chemical formula are C=6, H=12 and O=6. The empirical formula on the
other hand is CH2O. In order to make an empirical formula, you have to reduce the subscript of
the given compound in the smallest whole number ratio of atoms. Since the Greatest Common
Factor of the subscript of C6H12O6 is 6, you have to divide all the subscripts with 6 so you get
CH2O.
Other examples of compounds and their empirical and molecular formula are shown on the table
below.
 Table 1. Empirical and Molecular Formulas of Some Compounds
Name of Compounds Molecular Formula Empirical Formula

Carbon Dioxide CO2 CO2

Hydrogen Peroxide H2O2 HO

Butane C4H10 C2H5

Water H2O H2O

Benzene C6H6 CH

Now that you have distinguished the two chemical formulas, you will now learn how to
determine the molecular formula using its molar mass and empirical formula. Take a look with
this example.
A compound with empirical formula of CF2 has a molar mass of 200.04. Find its molecular
formula.
Step 1. Calculate the molar mass of each element present in the given compound. CF2 has one
Carbon atom and two Fluorine atoms. Always remember that the molar mass of an element is
equal to the atomic mass of it in the periodic table.
Molar mass of C= 1 x 12.01 g/mol = 12.01 g/mol
Molar mass of F2= 2 x 19.0 g/ mol = 38 g/mol
Molar mass of CF2 = 12.01 g/mol + 38 g/mol = 50.01 g/mol
Step 2: Divide the molar mass of the molecular formula from the molar mass of empirical
formula to find the value of n. Since the given molar mass of the molecular formula is 200.04,
you have to divide it with the molar mass of CF2 that was calculated in step 1.
n = molar mass of molecular formula = 200.04g / mol = 4 molar mass of empirical formula
50.01g / mol

Step 3. Multiply the subscripts of the empirical formula by the value of n that you’ve got in step
2. In this case, you multiply CF2 by 4, (C(1x4) F(4x4)) so the molecular formula is C4F8.
Practice problem. What is the molecular formula of a compound that has a molecular mass of
34.02 g/mol and an empirical formula of HO.
Step 1: Determine the molar mass of HO:
Molar mass of H= 1 x 1.01 g/mol = 1.01 g/mol
Molar mass of O= 1 X 16.0 g/mol = 16.0 g/mol
Molar mass of HO = 1.01 g/mol + 16.0 g/mol = 17.01 g/mol
Step 2: Find the value of n using the formula
n = molar mass of molecular formula = 34.02g / mol = 2 molar mass of empirical formula 17.01g
/ mol

Step 3. Multiply each subscript by the value of n 2 (HO) = H2O2 (molecular formula)
Take note of the term percent composition/percent by mass which represents the relative amount
of each element present in a compound. You can calculate the percent composition using the
compound’s molecular formula. Let’s use the previous example.
Step 1. From the molar masses of each element, you can now calculate the percentage of each
element.

% H = 2 mol H x molar mass of H x 100 molar mass of H2O2

% H = 2 x 1.01 g / mol 2.02 g / mol x 100 = 34.02 g / mol 34.02 g / mol
2 mol O x molar mass of O x 100 = 5.94 %
%O = molar mass of H2O2 x 100

2 x 16.0 g / mol 32.0 g / mol

%O = x 100 = x 100 = 94.06 %
34.02 g / mol 34.02 g / mol

Step 2. Think about the result. The solution says that the 34.04 grams of H2O2 consists of 5.94%
H2 and 94.06% O2.

Construct Mole or Mass Ratios

The calculation of reactants and products in chemical reactions plays a

crucial role in the production of many things that you use in your daily life.
Chocolates, shampoo, soap, medicines and many other commodities that are part
of your everyday life are chemically engineered, or produced through chemical
reactions. In chemistry, the study of these quantitative relationships and
calculations of chemical reactions is termed as stoichiometry. It is a section of
chemistry that tells us what quantity of each reactant we need in order to get
enough of our desired product. Because of its real-life applications in chemical
engineering as well as research, stoichiometry is one of the most important and
fundamental topics in chemistry.

Let us illustrate stoichiometry in making hamburger sandwiches. In order

to make a piece of savory and flavorful sandwich, you need the following
ingredients:
2 pieces of slice bread + 1 piece of meat patty + 1 piece of egg + 2 pieces of slice
tomato = 1 burger sandwich

The ratio of bread, patty, egg and tomato is 2:1:1:2:1. What if you will make five
burger sandwiches for your family, how many pieces for each ingredient are
needed?

The way you calculate these ingredients are similar to how you calculate
the amount of reactant or products involved in a chemical reaction. The ratio of
reactants and products in a chemical reaction is called the mole ratio. Just a
reminder, always make sure that the chemical equation that you’ll be working is
balanced.

Practice problem:

a. Given the chemical equation 2 H 2 + O2 → 2 H2O, how many moles

of O2 will be used to produce 6.2 moles of water? (moles H 2O → moles
O2) Step 1:

Make sure that the equation is balanced. From the balanced equation: 2
H2 + O2 → 2 H2O, 1 mole of O2 is needed to produce 2 moles of H2O,
therefore the mole ratio of O2 to H2O is 1:2 Step 2:

Use the stoichiometric relationship of moles of H 2O and O2 to compute

for the moles of O2.

Answer: To produce 6.2 moles of H2O, you need 3.1 moles O2

b. How many grams of carbon dioxide are produced if 5 moles of
hydrochloric acid reacted with calcium carbonate given the chemical
formula CaCO3 + 2HCl → CaCl2 + CO2 + H2O.

Step 1:

Balance equation: CaCO3 + 2HCl → CaCl2 + CO2 + H2O

2 moles of HCl will produce 1 mole of CO2, therefore the mole ratio of
HCl to CO2 is 2:1

Step 2:

Use the stoichiometric relationship of moles of HCl and CO 2 to compute

for the moles of CO2

Step 3:

Compute the molar mass of CO2

C=1x12.01=12.01g/mol

O=2x16.0=16.0g/mol

Molar mass = 12. 01 + 32.0 = 44.01 g/mol

Step 4:

Compute for the mass of carbon dioxide in grams

Answer: 5 moles of hydrochloric acid reacted with calcium carbonate

will produced 110.035 grams of CO2

Activity 1 Calculating Mass/Mole Ratio

Answer the following problems. Show your solution and write it on the
space provided.
1. How many moles of oxygen is produced if 25 moles of water
reacted based on the chemical equation 6 CO2 + 6 H2O → C6H12O6 + 6 O2
 2. How many grams of NH3 will be produced when 14.5 moles of H 2
are reacted based on the chemical equation N(g) + H2(g) → 2 NH3(g)?

3. How many moles of C2H5OH will be used to make 162.09 g of

H2O? C2H5OH(l) + 3 O2(g) → 2 CO2(g) + 3 H2O(l)?

4. How many grams of CO2 is produced by the combustion of 5 mol

of CH4 based on the chemical equation CH 4(g) + O2(g) → CO2(g) +
H2O(l)?

5. How many moles of H2O and CO2 are produced from the
combustion of 12.5 moles of ethanol based on the chemical equation
C2H5OH + 3O2 → 3H2O + CO2?

Calculate Percent Yield and Theoretical Yield of the Reaction

How’s life during the community quarantine? What are the things that you did? How did
you spend your time to become productive while staying at home? When you look at the
brighter side, the community quarantine gives you time to develop your talent, skill or hobby
like reading, dancing, writing a story, gardening, etc. In fact, many students of your age find
cooking an interesting activity. How about you? Have you ever tried to cook for your family?

Suppose you made a dish, either fried, steamed or baked, do you think the weight of the
dish that you cooked is equal to the amount of raw ingredients that you used in cooking it?
Definitely not, right? Some of the ingredients may have spilled, have evaporated or have stuck
in the utensils that you used. The same thing happens in chemistry.
The amount of reactants used and the product that was produced in a chemical reaction
can be expressed in percent yield using the formula:

Actual yield is the amount of product that was actually produced when the
chemical reaction is carried out in the laboratory. On the other hand, theoretical yield is
the maximum amount of product that can be produced from a given amount of reactant in
ideal condition.

Remember, the actual yield will always be less than the theoretical yield
because no chemical reaction ever reaches 100 percent completion. In a lab
setting, there’s always some amount of error such as incomplete reaction, side
reaction, spilled chemicals and many others.

You also need to apply the concept of limiting and excess reagent. In a
chemical reaction, the reactants that are not completely consumed when the
reaction is complete is called the excess reagent while the reagent that is
completely used up is called the limiting reagent. The limiting reagent tells you
the maximum amount of product to be formed which determines the amount of
theoretical yield.

Practice Problem.

Ana was making medicine in the laboratory. Using the amount of limiting
reactant, she calculated the amount of medicine that should form as 9.25 grams.
When she weighed her medicine product on the balance, its mass was 7.95 g.
a. What is the actual yield of the medicine? 7.95 g
b. What is the theoretical yield of the medicine? 9.25 g
c. Calculate the percent yield for this synthesis. 85.95 %

Simon combined 225 grams of Magnesium and 135 grams of Nitrogen to

produce Mg3N2 (magnesium nitride). Upon completion, Mg 3N2 weighed 300
grams. Determine the a.) limiting reagent b.) excess reagent c.) percent yield and
d.) theoretical yield of the reaction.

Step 1.
Make sure that the chemical equation that you’ll be working at is balance.
3Mg + N2 → Mg3N2
Step 2.
Find the molar mass of the reactants and the product
Molar mass of 3Mg = 3 x 24.31 g/mol = 72.93 g/mol
Molar mass of N2 = 2 X 14.01 g/mol = 28.02 g/mol
Molar mass of Mg3N2 = 72.93 g/mol + 28.02 g/mol = 100.95 g/mol

Step 3. Calculate the amount of product that each reactant could make to
determine the limiting
reactant and excess reactant
From these, you can see that magnesium can only form 311. 45 Mg 3N2 while
nitrogen can form 486.38 Mg3N2. Therefore, magnesium is the limiting reagent
because it limits or controls the amount of Mg 3N2 to be produced while the
nitrogen is the excess reagent.

Step 4.
Identify the theoretical yield. The maximum amount of product that the limiting
reagent can make is 311.45 Mg3N2 . Therefore, when the experiment is
performed perfectly, you can produce 311.45 Mg3N2.

Step 5.
Calculate the percent yield of the reaction
Since the problem stated that upon completion, the actual yield is 300 grams, we
can compute the percent yield using the formula