Nomenclature of Main Group Cations
Metals tend to lose electrons and form cations in ionic compounds.
Cations of the main group metals have a charge equal to their Group
number. They are named simply by stating the element name + the
word 'ion'.
element name +
Cation Name :
ion
Cation
: Group number
Charge
The symbol for the ion is the element symbol with the charge shown as
a superscript to the right of the symbol. The number is given before the
charge in the superscript. When the charge on an ion is 1+ or 1- the
"1" is omitted.
Example: Magnesium, Mg, is a Group 2A metal.
magnesium
Cation Name :
ion
Cation
: 2+
Charge
Cation
: Mg2+
Symbol
Nomenclature of Monatomic, "ide" Anions
Nonmetals tend to gain electrons and form anions in ionic compounds.
Monatomic Anions of the nonmetals are composed of a single element
and end in the suffix "ide." The charge on a monatomic anion is equal
to the Group number - 8.
Remove ending, add
Anion Name :
"ide"
Anion
: Group number - 8
Charge
The symbol for the ion is the element symbol with the charge shown as
a superscript to the right of the symbol. The number is given before the
charge in the superscript. When the charge on an ion is 1+ or 1- the
"1" is omitted.
Example: Sulfur, S, is a Group 6A nonmetal.
Remove sulfide
Anion Name : =
"ur" ion
Anion
: 6-8 = -2
Charge
Anion
: Sulfide ion = S2-
Symbol
Nomenclature of Binary Ionic Compounds
Binary compounds are composed of two elements. When one of these
elements is a metal and one is a nonmetal, an ionic compound is
formed.
- Metals give off electrons and form cations in ionic compounds.
- Nonmetals pick up electrons and form anions in ionic compounds.
Ionic compounds are named by stating the cation name and then the
anion name. The number of cations or anions is not specified. The
number of each is understood because the overall charge must equal
zero. The charge of each ion in a binary compound is determined from
the periodic table.
For main group elements:
Cation name = name of element
Cation Charge = Group number
Example: Potassium is a Group 1A metal.
It forms the +1 potassium cation: K+
Anion name = element name with the ending replaced by the suffix
"ide".
Anion Charge = Group number - 8
Example: Sulfur is a Group 6A nonmetal.
It forms the (6 - 8 = -2) sulfide anion: S2-
Compound name = cation name + anion name
Compound Charge = 0
The number of cations and anions must balance so that the overall
charge is zero.
Example: Potassium sulfide = K2S
Note that there must be 2 potassium 1+ cations because sulfide has a
2- charge.
Note also that the name ends in ide. Binary compounds always end in
'ide'.
Metals with More Than One Oxidation State
Because most metals have more than one oxidation state, it is usually
necessary to specify the charge for a metal ion. The oxidation state is
specified in the name as a Roman numeral in parentheses. For
example, iron in the +3 oxidation state is named iron(III), while iron in
the +2 oxidation state is named iron(II).
Ion Name Ion Name
Fe3+ iron(III) ... Fe2+ iron(II)
copper(I copper(
Cu2+ ... Cu+
I) I)
Pb4+ lead(IV) ... Pb2+ lead(II)
Oxidation
+1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 +7 +8
State
Roman
I II III IV V VI VII VIII
numeral
If you are naming a metal cation that has more than one oxidation
state, use a Roman numeral in the name.
Metals with One Oxidation State
The cations from group 1A and 2A metals always have charges of +1
and +2, respectively. Because there is no ambiguity, a Roman numeral
is not used in their names. In addition to these, a few other metals
display only one oxidation state. These are: Ag+, Zn2+, Cd2+, and Al3+.
You should know the charges on these ions.
Ion Name
Ag+ silver
Zn2+ zinc
Cd2+ cadmium
aluminu
Al3+
m
If you are naming a metal cation that has only one oxidation state, do
not use a Roman numeral in the name.
Writing formulas for ionic compounds.
Since compounds are electrically neutral, the formula for an ionic
compound must contain an equal number of + and - charges. The
number of each type of ion in the formula is the minimum required, so
that the net charge on the compound is zero.
Although an ionic compound is composed of charged ions, the charges
on the ions are never written in the formula of the compound.
PROCEDURE:
1. Write the formula of the cation followed by the formula of the
anion.
2. Insert subscripts to show the number of each ion in the
formula.
○ If there is only one ion in the formula, omit the
subscript.
○ If a polyatomic ion is needed more than once,
enclose its formula in parentheses and place the
subscript after the closing parenthesis.
○
Nonmetals can combine with other nonmetals to make covalent compounds. Binary covalent
compounds contain two nonmetals. Because nonmetals can share electrons in covalent bonds
in many different ways, it is necessary to specify the number of each element in the compound.
For example:
CO = carbon monoxide.
CO2 = carbon dioxide.
The prefixes tell how many oxygens are combined with carbon in the covalent compound.
Here is a list of the prefixes used in covalent nomenclature:
Number Prefix
1 mono (not used for the first element in the compound)
2 di
3 tri
4 tetra
5 penta
6 hexa
7 hepta
8 octa
9 nona
10 deca
Binary covalent compounds always end in ide: carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide.
There are a few exceptions to the above, when the common name is so well known that no one
uses the formal name. For our purposes these are:
water (H2O), and
ammonia (NH3).
1. Write the skeletal structure (the arrangement of atoms
within the molecule):
2. Carbon forms 4 bonds (a double bond is 2 bonds) and there are
often C-C bonds in the "center" of the molecule.
Hydrogen forms only 1 bond and is therefore a terminal atom (on
the outside of the molecule).
Oxygen usually forms 2 bonds.
Nitrogen usually forms 3 bonds (may form 4 in a cation like NH4+).
Count the total number of valence electrons:
3. Group number for each element = # valence electrons
Add electrons for negatively charged ions.
Subtract electrons for positively charged ions.
Join atoms by single bonds.
4. Single bond = 1 pair of electrons.
Place lone pairs on terminal atoms (except H) to complete
their octets
5. Octet = 4 electron pairs around an atom = 8 electrons
Hydrogen can have only 2 electrons.
If there are more electrons left, place them as lone pairs on
remaining atoms to complete their octets.
6.
If there are still atoms with incomplete octets, use the
electrons from surrounding atoms to make double or triple
bonds.
Do not add electrons. "Borrow" them from surrounding atoms.
Double bond = 2 pairs of electrons
Triple bond = 3 pairs of electrons
Only C, N, O, P and S form multiple bonds.
F and Cl do not form multiple bonds.
