Lecture: Naming Compounds and the Mole Concept

Naming Compounds and the Mole Concept Review
Compound Naming Review
  • All compounds must be neutral, meaning the sum of positive and negative charges in an ionic compound must equal zero.

  • Compounds are generally categorized into two main types for naming purposes:

    1. Ionic Compounds: Formed between a metal and a nonmetal, or involving polyatomic ions.

      • Type I Ionic Compounds (Fixed-Charge Metals): Consist of a cation from a metal that forms only one type of ion (e.g., Group 1, Group 2, Aluminum, Zinc, Silver) and an anion.

        • Name the cation first, using the element name.

        • Name the anion second, by taking the root of the nonmetal element name and adding the suffix "-ide".

        • Example: NaCl is sodium chloride; MgBr_2 is magnesium bromide.

      • Type II Ionic Compounds (Variable-Charge Metals): Consist of a cation from a metal that can form more than one type of ion (typically transition metals) and an anion.

        • Name the cation first, using the element name followed by a Roman numeral in parentheses to indicate its charge.

        • Name the anion second, using the "-ide" suffix for monatomic anions.

        • Example: FeCl2 is iron(II) chloride; FeCl3 is iron(III) chloride.

      • Ionic Compounds with Polyatomic Ions: Involve polyatomic ions (groups of atoms with an overall charge).

        • Name the cation (element name or polyatomic ion name).

        • Name the anion (polyatomic ion name or monatomic anion with "-ide" suffix).

        • Common polyatomic ions include: NO3^- (nitrate), SO4^{2-} (sulfate), PO4^{3-} (phosphate), OH^- (hydroxide), CO3^{2-} (carbonate), NH_4^+ (ammonium).

        • Example: NaNO3 is sodium nitrate; (NH4)2SO4 is ammonium sulfate.

    2. Covalent/Molecular Compounds: Formed between two nonmetals.

      • Use prefixes to indicate the number of atoms of each element.

      • The first element is named as is.

      • The second element takes an "-ide" suffix with a prefix.

      • The prefix "mono-" is generally omitted for the first element.

      • Prefixes: mono- (1), di- (2), tri- (3), tetra- (4), penta- (5), hexa- (6), hepta- (7), octa- (8), nona- (9), deca- (10).

      • Example: CO is carbon monoxide; CO2 is carbon dioxide; P2O_5 is diphosphorus pentoxide.

    3. Acids: Compounds that produce H^+ ions when dissolved in water.

      • Binary Acids: Composed of hydrogen and one other nonmetal.

        • Named as "hydro-" + nonmetal root + "-ic acid".

        • Example: HCl (g) is hydrogen chloride, but HCl (aq) is hydrochloric acid.

      • Oxyacids: Composed of hydrogen, oxygen, and one other nonmetal.

        • If the polyatomic ion name ends in "-ate", the acid name ends in "-ic acid".

        • If the polyatomic ion name ends in "-ite", the acid name ends in "-ous