Rules

Naming Ionic Compounds

1. write the metal

2. determine whether the metal is a transition metal

   1. if it is, put a Roman numeral that represents the charge of transition in parenthesis after the metal name

3. write the name of the anion.

   1. if it is one or more of a single type of atom, change the ending of the element’s name such that it ends with -ide

   2. if it is a polyatomic ion, write the name of the polyatomic ion

Naming Covalent Compounds

1. write the name of the most electropositive nonmetal

2. if there is more than one of the first nonmetal, add the appropriate greek prefix to the beginning of the name

3. write the name of the second, more electronegative, nonmetal with an -ide ending

4. add the appropriate greek prefix to the beginning of the second nonmetal name

Naming Acids

1. determine if the acid contains a polyatomic ion or a single anionic element

   1. single anionic element- begin the acid name with “hydro-” then the element’s name with the suffix “ic-” followed by the word “acid.”

   2. polyatomic ion- the most common forms ends in “-ic” acid and the less oxygen-rich ion ends in “-ous” acid