CHAPTER 1: REVIEW ON THE NOMENCLATURE OF INORGANIC CHEMISTRY

I. DEFINITION OF TERMS
1. IUPAC (International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry) -Universally- recognized authority on chemical nomenclature and
terminology
2. Nomenclature - A collection of rules for naming things
3. Chemical Formula
- Shows a substance’s chemical composition and is a combination of symbols for atoms or ions that are held together
chemically
- Important part of the language of chemistry because it tells us something about the composition of an element or a
compound
- The formula for a single atom is the same as the symbol for the element (Na represents a single sodium atom)
- A subscript following the symbol of an element indicates the number of atoms of that element in a molecule
a.) Elemental Formulas – The formula for an atom of an element is its symbol, such as Ca, Fe, or Kr. In cases where
the element exists as a diatomic or polyatomic molecule, we use molecular formulas such as F2, P4, and S8
b.) Ionic Formulas
• Chemical formula for an ionic compound
• Tells us the relative numbers of ions present in the compound
• In NaCl, the ration of Na+ ions to Cl- is 1 to 1;
• In Al(NO3)3, the ratio of Al3+ ions to NO3- ions is 1 to 3.
c.) Molecular Formulas
• Example: NH3 and H2O
• Usually consist of combinations of nonmetallic elements in which the bonds between the atoms are
formed by the sharing of electrons
• The formula NH3 is a molecular compound, that is, NH3 exists in the form of individual molecules.
• Tells us how many atoms of each element are present in one molecule of the compound
• For example, one molecule of C2H6 (ethane) contains 2 carbon and 6 H atoms. The compounds NH3 and
C2H6 are also binary compounds. Why?
d.) Empirical Formulas
• Elements appear in smallest whole-number ratios.
• For example, the molecular formula H2O is also an empirical formula because the ratio of H atoms to
Oxygen atoms (2:1) cannot be reduced further.
• N2O4 has NO2 as its empirical formula
• Note that an empirical formula need not be related in any special way to its parent formula: it may
represent another compound or it may not even exist as a compound
e. ) Structural Formulas
• Show how the atoms in a molecule are bonded to one another
• May also show the shape of the molecule
4. Ion – Particle formed when a neutral atom or group of atoms gains or loses one or more electrons
• Cation – loses an electron
• Anion – gains an electron
5. Polyatomic Ions or Radicals – Ions that consist of atoms joined together as in a molecule, but they have a net positive or negative
charge. They are ions composed of two or more atoms
Eg. SO42- , PO4-3, NO3-
6. Ionic Compounds – Contain positively charged ions and negatively charged ions.
• Combinations of metals and non-metals
Eg. NaCl, ZnO, KI, CaF2
 7. Binary Compounds – Ionic compounds composed of two different kinds of atoms or elements
8. Polyatomic compounds – Composed of 3 or more elements combined in a definite proportion, where the combining ions are
usually the polyatomic ions. Example: AgNO3, FeSO4, KNO3
9. Bivalent elements – Have 2 valence numbers and can form 2 different ions
-Example Fe (+2,+3), Cu (+2, +1)
10. Multivalent Elements – Have 3 or more valence numbers and can form more than 2 different ions
-Example: Most transition metals and other non-metals
11. Binary Acids – Composed of a H ion and non-metal only. These are acids that do not contain an O2 atom in their chemical
formula
-Example: HCl, HBr, HF, HI, H2S
12. Oxy-acids or Oxo-acids, or Ternary Acids – Composed of 3 elements and the 3rd element is an oxygen atom
-Contain a polyatomic ion as its negatively charged ion
-HNO3, H2SO4, H3PO4, HC2H3O2,

II. SYMBOLS
-Consist of one or two letters, with the 1st letter capitalized
-Used to represent elements
- Abbreviations for the name of the element
- Represent a fixed relative qty of the element
- Often, symbols stand for one atom of the element. Atoms, however, have fixed relative weights (atomic weights) So the symbols
often stand for one atomic weight of the element

A. HOW SYMBOLS WERE DERIVED

1. 1st letter of the Greek, Latin, Arabic, English Name
-B,C,O,F,H,V,I
2. 1st letter + any other letter
-Ca, Cl, Ag(Argentum), Sr

B. NAMING OF ELEMENTS
a. Based from the Greek, Latin, Arabic or English name
• Helium – from the Greek word Helios
• Carbon – from the Latin word Carbo
• Lithium – from the Greek word Lithos
b. From the name of the discoverer, place of discovery
• Californium
• Berkelium
• Curium
• Americum
• Fermium
• Holmium
c. From the name of planets
• Uranium
• Neptunium
• Plutonium
d. Based on the elements atomic number
• Ununbium
• Ununtrium
• Ununquadium
• Ununpentium
• Ununhexium
 e. In honor of great Scientists
• Bohrium
• Rutherfordium
• Einsteinium
• Mendelevium
• Nobelium

III. GENERAL STEPS IN WRITING CHEMICAL FORMULAS

1. A compound is made up of a positive and a negative part in which the positive part is the one which is written first.
There are 4 possible combinations:
a.) Element + element (NaBr)
b.) element + radical (KNO3)
c.) radical + element (NH4Cl)
d.) radical + radical (NH4NO3)

2. Assign the symbol of the positive and the negative portion. This is called the oxidation state. Write the valence of each part
on the right hand corner. When subscript is 1, there is no need to write the number 1.
Eg. Na + Cl- → NaCl
Mg+2 + O-2 → MgO
H + F → HF

3. Criss-cross each valence of the element. The valence of the 1st becomes the subscript of the second and vice versa.
Eg. Al+3 + O-2 → Al2O3
Mg+2 + Cl- → MgCl2
Ba+2 + N-3 → Ba3N2

4. Since compound shows simplest, the ratio in which the positive and negative parts are combined.
a.) Omit writing subscripts whenever subscripts are numerically equal
b.) Whenever possible, reduce the subscripts to the simplest whole number ratio. Be sure not to alter the formula in the
radical form.
Calcium ferrocyanide Ca2Fe(CN)6
c.) Whenever radical needs a subscript, enclose the radical by a parenthesis. If the radical originally has the parenthesis,
enclose it by a bracket.
Calcium ferricyanide Ca3[Fe(CN)6]-3
5. When the ion is a polyatomic ion, the polyatomic ion is enclosed first in parenthesis before its subscript is written. When
their subscripts are equal to 1, the polyatomic ion need not be enclosed in a parenthesis and then drop the subscript.
Pb+4 + (SO4)-2 → Pb2(SO4)4 → Pb (SO4)2
Al+3 + (PO4)-3 → Al3(PO4)3 → AlPO4
Ba+2 + (SO4)-2 → Ba2(SO4)2 → BaSO4
Ca+2 + (PO4)-3 → Ca3(PO4)2

IV. WRITING AND NAMING FORMULAS FOR IONIC COMPOUNDS

Since all compounds are electrically neutral, the total electric charge on an ionic compound must be 0. When we write the formula of
an ionic compound must be 0. When we write the formula for an ionic compound, we must be certain that the total charge on the
positive ions equals the total charge on the negative ions.
• K + F → KF
• Li+ + O2- → Li2O
• Al3+ + S2- → Al2S3
• Pb2+ + O2 → PbO
• Pb4+ + O2 → PbO2
• Zn2+ + PO43- → Zn3(PO4)2
• NH4+ + SO42- → (NH4)2SO4
• What are the charges on the ions of CuI2?

A. Binary “Ionic” Compounds

1. Binary compounds are named by naming the cation first followed by the anion.
2. Monoatomic cations take their name from the name of the parent element, and monoatomic anions are named by
taking the first part of the element’s name and then adding the suffix “-ide”.

Examples:
Chemical Cation Name Anion Name (+ide) Systematic Chemical Name
Formula
NaCl
KI
MgO
Mg3N2

3. The Classical System is another system used for naming ionic compounds of metals belonging to the “B-Families”
(Transition metals) that can form two different compounds from their ions. The ion with the higher charge has a name
ending in “ic”, and the ion with the lower charge has a name ending is “ous”. These suffixes are usually attached to the
Latin names of the elements.

Chemical Cation’s Classical / Cation Name + “ic” / Anion = Name + Classical / Old Name
Formula Old Name “ous” “ide”
FeCl2
Fe2O3
Cu2S
SnO4

4. Stock System – Many metallic elements can have more than one positive charge. This system is used to indicate the
charge of the metal ion (cation) followed by the name of the anion.
Iron (Fe), for example, can exist as the Fe2+ or Fe3+ ion and can therefore form 2 oxides: FeO and Fe2O3.
Since it is iron whose charge varies, we provide Fe with a Roman Numeral in parentheses, which corresponds to its
positive charge. Therefore, FeO is given the name iron(II) oxide, and Fe2O3 is called iron (III) oxide.

Chemical Element’s Name Cation Anion Stock System Name

Formula (Name + Charge in (Name + ide)
Roman Numerals)
MgF2
HgCl2
SnO2
Cu2S
PbI4
B. Binary “Covalent” Compounds
1. For binary “covalent” compounds, the Greek prefixes are used in naming to indicate the number of atoms in the
compound.

Prefix # of atoms indicated Prefix # of atoms indicated

Mono 1 Hepta 7
Di 2 Octa 8
Tri 3 Nona 9
Tetra 4 Deca 10
Penta 5 Undeca 11
Hexa 6 Dodeca 12

2. The prefix “mono” is never used for naming the first ion or cation. Example, CO is not Monocarbon monoxide but is
Carbon monoxide.
3. The final “o” or “a” of the prefix is often dropped when the element begins with a vowel.
Examples:
• P2O5 is not phosphorous penta-oxide but is phosphorous pentoxide.
• CCl4 -
• NO -
• CO –
• PCl5 –
• CF2 –

C. Inorganic Acids
1. Rule in naming Hydroacids or Binary Acids:
A binary acid is named beginning with the prefix “hydro” for the hydrogen atom plus the first part of the name of
the anion with the suffix “ic”.
• HCl = hydro + chlor-ic acid → Hydrochloric acid
• HF =
• HBr =
• HI =
• H2S =

2. Rule in naming Oxyacids:

When the given compound is an oxyacid, the acid name is formed from the root name of the polyatomic anion
with a suffix of -ic or -ous. If the polyatomic anion name ends in -ate, the ending -ate is replaced by -ic. If the
polyatomic anion has an -ite, it is replaced by -ous.

Chemical Formula Anion Anion’s name Oxyacid’s name

H2SO3 SO3 Sulfite Sulfurous acid
H2SO4
HClO
HClO2
H3PO4
HNO2
HNO3
D. Bases = cation + hydroxyl ion (OH)
Name the cation + “hydroxide”

Chemical Formula Cation + hydroxide Name of the Base

Ca(OH)2 Calcium + hydroxide Calcium hydroxide
KOH
NaOH
Al(OH)3
Ba(OH)2
Mg(OH)2

E. Salts
1. Binary Salts = metal + nonmetal
Write the name of the metal + first part on non-metal’s name then add the suffix -ide

Chemical Formula Name of the salt

NaCl Sodium + Chlor-ide Sodium chloride
KI
KCl
MgCl2
MgBr2

2. Ternary Salts = metal + radical

Write the name of the metal followed by the name of the radical

Chemical Formula Name of the salt

KNO3 Potassium + nitrate Potassium nitrate
CaSO4
Na3PO4
Li2CO3
CuSO4