Naming Compounds

Naming compounds is an important part of chemistry. Most compounds fall in to one of

three categories- ionic compounds, molecular compounds, or acids.

You can navigate to specific sections of this handout by clicking the links below.
Naming Ionic Compounds: pg. 1
Naming Binary Molecular Compounds: pg. 3
Naming Acids: pg. 4
Practice Problems: pg. 6

Part One: Naming Ionic Compounds

Identifying Ionic Compounds

Ionic compounds consist of combinations of positively charged ions called cations

(usually metals), and negatively charged ions called anions (usually non-metals). In
general, you can identify an ionic compound because it contains a metal (these are
usually found in the left and center areas of the periodic table) and a non-metal (these
are generally found in the right hand area of the periodic table). Also, a compound will
have no charge. For example, NaCl and Fe2O3 are ionic compounds; they each contain a
metal (Na and Fe) and a non-metal (Cl and O), and they do not have charges. MnO4- is
NOT an ionic compound; it does contain a metal (Mn) and a non-metal (O), but it has a
charge. Thus, it is a polyatomic ion, not a compound. A compound will NEVER have a
charge!

Naming Ionic Compounds

There are three steps involved in naming ionic compounds- naming the cation, naming
the anion, and naming the entire compound.

1. Name the cation.

i. Cations formed from metal atoms have the same name as the
metal. Examples: Na+= sodium ion; Al3+= aluminum ion
ii. If a metal can form ions of different charges (i.e., is one of the
central transition metals), specify the charge with Roman
numerals in parentheses. Examples: Fe+= iron (I) ion; Fe2+= iron (II)
ion; Fe3+= iron (III) ion

Naming Compounds
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 iii. Cations formed from nonmetal ions have names ending in –ium.
These are not common; the main ones are NH4+ (ammonium ion)
and H3O+ (hydronium ion)
2. Name the anion.
i. Monoatomic anions (those formed from a single atom) have
names formed by replacing the end of the element name with –
ide. Examples: F- = fluoride ion; O2-= oxide ion. A few simple
polyatomic anions (those formed from multiples atoms) also have
names ending in –ide. Examples: CN- = cyanide ion; OH- =
hydroxide ion; O22-= peroxide ion.
ii. Most polyatomic ions contain oxygen, and have names ending in
-ate or -ite. They are known as oxyanions. The ending –ate is used
for the most common oxyanion form. The ending –ite is used for
an oxyanion that has the same charge, but one less oxygen atom.
Examples: SO42- = sulfate; SO32- = sulfite (same charge, but one
less oxygen)
iii. The suffixes per- and hypo- are added to the names of oxyanions
to show the addition or subtraction of additional oxygen atoms.
Per- indicates the addition of one oxygen to the -ate form. Hypo-
indicates the subtraction of one oxygen from the –ite form. Thus –
ate is the most common form, per-_-ate has one extra oxygen, -ite
has one less oxygen, and hypo-_-ite has two less oxygen. Example:
ClO4- = perchlorate (one more oxygen than regular form)
ClO3- = chlorate (regular form)
ClO2- = chlorite (one less oxygen than regular form)
ClO- = hypochlorite (two less oxygen than regular form)
iv. Anions formed by adding H+ to an oxyanion have the word
“hydrogen” in front of their names (or “dihydrogen,” if two
hydrogens are present.) Examples: CO32- = carbonate ion; HCO3- =
hydrogen carbonate ion (notice that the addition of hydrogen
lessens the negative charge by one). PO43- = phosphate ion; H2PO4-
= dihydrogen phosphate.
3. Name the compound.
i. To name the compound, simply put the names of the ions
together. The name of an ionic compound is always the cation
name followed by the anion name. Examples: CaCl2= calcium
chloride; Al(NO3)3= aluminum nitrate
ii. If you are dealing with a transition metal, don’t forget to specify
its charge.

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 iii. If you are dealing with an oxyanion, be sure you have the right
name for the form you are using. Example: Cu(ClO4)2 = copper (II)
perchlorate
iv. If you are having trouble determining the charge on an ion, look at
the subscript on the opposite ion. In the above example, we know
that the charge on the copper ion is +2 because the subscript on
the opposite ion, the perchlorate, is 2, and copper is a metal, so it
always has a positive charge. The charge on the perchlorate is -1
because the subscript on the copper is 1 (subscripts of 1 are not
written in formulas- thus, because the copper has no written
subscript, we know that it is 1), and perchlorate is an anion, so it
always has a negative charge.
v. You can use this same method to determine the correct subscript
when you are writing a chemical formula based on a name.
Example: write the formula for magnesium bromide. This is a
compound containing magnesium and bromine ions- Mg2+, and Br
- . To determine what subscripts, if any, to use, look at the

opposite charges. The subscript on bromine will be 2, because the

charge on the magnesium is 2. The subscript on magnesium will
be one, because the charge on bromine is -1. Thus the formula is
MgBr2. (Remember, subscripts of 1 are not written). Likewise,
given the name Iron (III) oxide, we can determine that the iron will
have a subscript of 2, because the charge on oxygen ion is -2; the
oxygen will have a subscript of 3, because we have been told we
are dealing with iron with a charge of 3. So the formula is Fe2O3.
The only time this rule is not true is when the charges on the ions
are equal- for example, when oxygen, with a charge of -2, bonds
with magnesium, which has a charge of +2. In this case, the
charge on one oxygen ion is equal to the charge on one
magnesium ion, so it will only take one oxygen ion and one
magnesium ion to form a compound that has no charge. Thus, this
compound has the formula MgO, not Mg2O2. The same thing
happens when calcium and oxygen combine. Calcium has a charge
of +2, and oxygen has a charge of -2. Because their charges are
equal, it only takes one of each to form a compound with no
charge, so the formula is CaO, not Ca2O2.

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Part Two: Naming Binary Molecular Compounds

Identifying Binary Molecular Compounds

Molecular compounds consist of combinations of non-metals. Binary molecular

compounds are composed of only two elements. They are easy to identify, as they
consist merely of two non-metal elements. Examples: H2O (water), NF3, and N2O4.

Naming Binary Molecular Compounds

There are four steps to name binary molecular compounds:

1. The name of the element farthest to the left in the periodic table is written
first.
i. There are occasional exceptions to this rule. The main exception is
oxygen. Oxygen, except when combined with fluorine, is always
written last.
2. If both elements are in the same group in the table, the lower one is
written first
3. The name of the second element is given an -ide ending.
4. Greek prefixes are used to indicate the number of atoms of each element.
i. The prefixes are as follows:
Mono-= one Hexa-= six
Di-= two Hepta-= seven
Tri-= three Octa-= eight
Tetra-= four Nona-= nine
Penta-= five Deca-= ten

ii. The prefix mono- is never used with the first element. If only
one atom of the first element is present, do not use a prefix.

Examples of binary molecular compounds and their names:

 Cl2O= dichlorine monoxide
 NF3= nitrogen trifluoride
 N2O4= dinitrogen tetroxide
 P4S10= tetraphosphorus decasulfide.

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Part Three: Naming Acids

Identifying Acids

Acids are hydrogen containing compounds. Acids are easy to recognize- they are
composed of hydrogen and an anion (the hydrogen always comes first), and they have
no charge. Examples: HCl and H2S04 are acids; they are made up of hydrogen and anions,
and they do not have charges. HCO3- is NOT an acid; it is made up of hydrogen and an
anion, but it has a charge, and so it is a polyatomic ion.

Naming Acids

There are two steps involved in naming acids.

1. Acids based on anions whose names end in –ide

When an ion ending in -ide becomes an acid, its name changes- its suffix changes
from –ide to –ic, and it gains a prefix, hydro-. Thus, Cl-, the chloride ion, becomes
HCl, hydrochloric acid. S2-, the sulfide ion, becomes H2S hydrosulfuric acid (we
add two hydrogen ions because the sulfide ion has a charge of 2-. We must add
enough hydrogen ions, which have a charge of 1+, to cancel out the charge on
the sulfide. One hydrogen ion would give us HS-, which is not an acid as it still has
a charge).
2. Acids based on anions whose names in –ate or –ite
When an ion ending in –ate becomes an acid, its suffix changes to –ic, but it does
not gain a prefix. If it already contains the prefix per- (as in perchlorate), it will
retain that prefix, and will be per____ic acid. When an ion ending in ite becomes
an acid, its suffix changes to -ous. If it contains the prefix hypo- (as in
hypochlorite), it retains that prefix, and will be hypo___ous acid. Thus, ClO3-, the
chlorate becomes HClO3, chloric acid. Perchlorate (ClO4-) becomes HClO4,
perchloric acid. Chlorite, ClO2-, becomes HClO2, chlorous acid, while hypochlorite,
ClO-, becomes HClO, hypochlorous acid.

The naming of acids can be summarized in the following chart:

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 -ide anion hydro__ic acid
(chloride, Cl-) (hydrochloric acid,
HCl)

-ate anion ____ic acid

(chlorate, ClO3-) (chloric acid, HClO3)

perate anion per__ic acid

(perchlorate, ClO4-) (perchloric acid,
HClO4)

-ite anion ___ous acid

(chlorite, ClO2-) (chlorous acid, HClO2)

hypo__ite anion hypo__ous acid

(hypochlorite, ClO-) (hypochlorous acid,
HClO)

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Practice Problems- Ionic Compounds
Name the following ionic compounds:
1. NH4Br 9. Cu(NO3)2
2. Cr2O3 10. Ba(ClO4)2
3. Co(NO3)2 11. Li3PO4
4. K2SO4 12. Hg2S
5. Ba(OH)2 13. Cr2(CO3)3
6. FeCl3 14. K2CrO4
7. AlF3 15. (NH4)2SO4
8. Fe(OH)2 16. Ca(C2H3O)2

Now go the other way- give the formulas for the following names:
17. Potassium sulfide 25. Cesium fluoride
18. Calcium carbonate 26. Magnesium iodide
19. Nickel (II) perchlorate 27. Iron (III) carbonate
20. Magnesium sulfate 28. Sodium hypobromite
21. Silver (I) sulfide 29. Cobalt (II) nitrate
22. Lead (II) nitrate 30. Chromium (II) acetate
23. Copper (I) oxide 31. Copper (II) perchlorate
24. Aluminum hydroxide 32. Calcium hydrogen carbonate

Practice Problems- Molecular Compounds

Name these binary molecular compounds:
1. SO2 9. CCl4
2. PCl5 10. P4O6
3. N2O3 11. SiO2
4. SF6 12. O2F2
5. IF5 13. XeF6
6. XeO3 14. AsCl3
7. N2O5 15. P2O5
8. BF3 16. AsBr3

Provide formulas for the following binary molecular compounds:

17. Silicon tetrabromide 24. Dihydrogen monoxide
18. Disulfur dichloride
19. Dinitrogen tetroxide 25. Phosphorus triiodide
20. Tetraphosphorus hexasulfide 26. Iodine monobromide
21. Sulfur hexafluoride 27. Diboron trioxide
22. Phosphorus tribromide 28. Nitrogen trichloride
23. Carbon tetraiodide 29. Carbon monoxide

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 30. Silicon tetrachloride 32. Nitrogen dioxide
31. Dinitrogen pentoxide

Practice Problems- Acids

Name the following acids:
1. HCN 9. HC2H3O2
2. HNO3 10. HNO2
3. H2SO4 11. HBrO3
4. H2SO3 12. HBrO4
5. HF 13. H2Se
6. HBr 14. H3PO3
7. HI 15. HCl
8. H3PO4 16. H2CO3

NOTE: Problems 11-14 all use ions that are not common. The ion in problem 11, BrO3-,
is bromate. The ion in problem 12, BrO4- is perbromate. The ion in problem 13, Se2-, is
selenide, the ion formed by element 34, selenium. The ion in problem 14, PO33-, is
phosphate.

Provide formulas for the following acids:

17. Hypochlorous acid
18. Hydroiodic acid
19. Sulfurous acid
20. Hydrobromic acid
21. Hydrosulfuric acid
22. Nitrous acid
23. Perbromic acid
24. Acetic acid
25. Hydroselenic acid
26. Bromous acid
27. Hydrofluoric acid
28. Phosphoric acid
29. Nitric acid
30. Hydrocyanic acid
31. Sulfuric acid
32. Carbonic acid

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Answer Key- Ionic Compounds
Names from formulas:
1. Ammonium bromide 9. Copper (II) nitrate
2. Chromium (III) oxide 10. Barium perchlorate
3. Cobalt (II) nitrate 11. Lithium phosphate
4. Potassium sulfate 12. Mercury (I) sulfide
5. Barium hydroxide 13. Chromium (III) carbonate
6. Iron (III) chloride 14. Potassium chromate
7. Aluminum fluoride 15. Ammonium sulfate
8. Iron (II) hydroxide 16. Calcium acetate

Formulas from names:

17. K2S 25. CsF
18. CaCO3 26. MgI2
19. Ni(ClO4)2 27. Fe2(CO3)3
20. MgSO4 28. NaBrO
21. Ag2S 29. Co(NO3)2
22. Pb(NO3)2 30. Cr(C2H3O2)2
23. Cu2O 31. Cu(ClO4)2
24. Al(OH)3 32. Ca(HCO3)2

Answer Key- Molecular Compounds

Names from formulas:
1. Sulfur dioxide 9. Carbon tetrachloride
2. Phosphorus pentachloride 10. Tetraphosphorus hexoxide
3. Dinitrogen trioxide 11. Silicon dioxide
4. Sulfur hexafluoride 12. Dioxide difluoride
5. Iodine pentafluoride 13. Xenon hexafluoride
6. Xenon trioxide 14. Arsenic trichloride
7. Dinitrogen pentoxide 15. Diphosphorus pentoxide
8. Boron trifluoride 16. Arsenic tribromide

Formulas from names:

17. SiBr4 25. PI3
18. S2Cl2 26. IBr
19. N2O4 27. B2O3
20. P4S6 28. NCl3
21. SF6 29. CO
22. PBr3 30. SiCl4
23. CI4 31. N2O5
24. H2O 32. NO2

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Answer Key- Acids
Names from formulas:
1. Hydrocyanic acid 9. Acetic acid
2. Nitric acid 10. Nitrous acid
3. Sulfuric acid 11. Bromic acid
4. Sulfurous acid 12. Perbromic acid
5. Hydrofluoric acid 13. Hydroselenic acid
6. Hydrobromic acid 14. Phosphorous acid
7. Hydroiodic acid 15. Hydrochloric acid
8. Phosphoric acid 16. Carbonic acid

Formulas from names:

17. HClO 25. H2Se
18. HI 26. HBrO2
19. H2SO3 27. HF
20. HBr 28. H3PO4
21. H2S 29. HNO3
22. HNO2 30. HCN
23. HBrO4 31. H2SO4
24. HC2H3O2 32. H2CO3

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