Before getting started,

spend one minute of

silence for Opening Prayer
CHEMICAL FORMULA
WRITING AND
NOMENCLATURE OF
INOGRANIC
COMPOUNDS

General Chemistry 1
 OBJECTIVES

1. Name inorganic compounds given their chemical formula.

2. Write the chemical formula given the name of the compound.
3. Represent compounds using chemical formula, structural
formula and models
 PRE-LECTURE DIY ACTIVITY

Study in advance: mole concept, molar mass, empirical and molecular

formula

Guide Questions:
a. What is a mole?
b. What is molar mass? How do you compute the molar mass of a substance?
c. What is the difference between empirical and molecular formula?
What were the three major models
of the atom?
Identify the symbol of the elements in the following names. No element should be
repeated.
Example: Aubrey Au – B – Re – Y (gold-boron-rhenium-yttrium)

1. Francis F – Ra – N – C – I – S
2. Nicola Ni – Co – La N – I – C – O – La
3. Claire C – La – I – Re
4. Stephen S – Te – P – He – N

5. Paula P a – u – La P – Au – La
 CHAPTER OUTLINE

1.) Rules in Writing Chemical Formulas

2.) Nomenclature of Inorganic Compounds

What are Chemical Formulas? And why
are they important?
 CHEMICAL
FORMULAS

• Is a shorthand way of writing the name of a compound.

• A combination of chemical symbols that shows the composition of a

compound.

• The number of atoms of an element is written as a subscript.

CHEMICAL FORMULA
Rules in Writing Chemical Formulas
STEPS IN WRITING CHEMICAL
FORMULA

A. Ionic Compound

B. Molecular Compounds
 IONIC COMPOUNDS

1. Write down the ions which will combine to form a compound. Start with
the cation, then the anion. The charge of an ion is always written as a
superscript in the chemical formula.

Example:   Combining Ions

Compound Cation Anion
Name

Magnesium Mg 2+ Cl –
chloride
Iron (III) oxide Fe 3+ O 2-
 IONIC COMPOUNDS

2. Crisscross the charges of the ions. Do not include the signs. The
interchanged numbers will be written as subscripts of the elements in the
formula. The subscript is 1 is not written in the formula.

Example: Combining Ions

Chemical Formula
Cation Anion
Mg 2+ Cl – MgCl2
Fe 3+ O 2- Fe2O3
 IONIC COMPOUNDS

3. Polyatomic ions or radicals behave as a single unit. When there are multiple numbers
of an individual polyatomic ion, parenthesis are used to separate the polyatomic ion
from the subscript that indicates how many of the ions are in the formula.

Example: Combining Ions

 
 
Chemical
Compound Name Cation Anion
Formula

Ammonium sulfide NH4+ S 2- (NH4)2S

Aluminum nitrate Al3+ NO3- Al(NO3)3
Sodium phosphate Na+ PO4 3- Na3PO4
 IONIC COMPOUNDS

4. The formula must be written in simplest form. Simplify it by dividing

the subscript obtained from crisscrossing by any common multiple.

  Combining Ions  Chemical

Example: Compound Name Cation Anion   Formula

Calcium oxide Ca2+ O2- Ca2O2 CaO

Lead (IV) sulfide Pb4+ S2- Pb2S4 PbS2
Magnesium Mg2+ CO32- Mg2(CO3)2 MgCO3
carbonate
Mercury(1) oxalate Hg22+ C2O42- (Hg2)2(C2O4)2 Hg2C2O4
 PRACTICE TASK
A. Identify the formula of the combining ions and the resulting chemical formula of the following
compounds.
Combining Ions
Compound Name Chemical Formula
Cation Anion
1.) Zinc sulfate      
2.) Potassium sulfide      
3.) Ammonium nitride      
4.)Cobalt (II) hydroxide      
5.) Calcium phosphate      
6.) Tin (IV) oxide      
7.) Hydrogen peroxide      
8.) Magnesium iodide      
9.) Lithium cyanide      
10.) Iron (III) chloride      
 MOLECULAR COMPOUNDS

Greek Prefixes
 MOLECULAR COMPOUNDS

1. For compounds of two non-metals, the Greek prefixes tell us the

number of atoms that chemically combined. The prefix “mono” is not
written in the first element.

Example: Diphosphorus pentasulfide - P2S5

Carbon dioxide - CO2
Sulfur trioxide - SO3
Carbon monoxide - CO
Number of
Prefix Example
atoms
1 Mono NO - Nitrogen monoxide
2 Di NO2 – Nitrogen dioxide
3 Tri N2O3 - Dinitrogen trioxide
4 Tetra N2O4 – Dinitrogen tetroxide
5 Penta N2O5 – Dinitrogen pentoxide
6 Hexa SF6 – Sulfur hexafluoride
7 Hepta IF7 – Iodine heptafluoride
8 Octa P4O8 – Tetraphosphorus octoxide
9 Nona P4S9 –Tetraphosphorus nonasulfide
10 deca As2O10 – Diarsenic decoxide
 PRACTICE TASK

B. Identify the formula of the following compounds.

Compound Name Chemical Formula

1.) Dinitrogen trioxide  
2.) Carbon monoxide  
3.) Dichlorine heptachloride  
4.) Phosphorus trichloride  
5.) Silicon dioxide  
NOMENCLATURE OF
INORGANIC COMPOUNDS
COMPOUNDS CAN BE NAMED USING:

A. Trivial Name

B. Systematic Nomenclature
COMPOUNDS CAN BE NAMED USING:

A. Trivial Name

baking soda (NaHCO3) muriatic acid (HCl)

lime water (Ca(OH)2) table salt (NaCl)

COMPOUNDS CAN BE NAMED USING:

B. Systematic Nomenclature

sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) Hydrochloric acid (HCl)

calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) sodium chloride (NaCl)

 NOMENCLATURE

– is a scientific way of naming compounds.

• Compounds are named according to the elements that compose

them.

• Naming of compounds is based on the number of atoms used per

element and the kind of bond that is formed.
 CATIONS

Cations are positive monatomic ions with the exception of

ammonium. They are usually metallic and are named the way their
metals are named.

A. Metals that form only one cation

B. Metals that from more than one cation

 CATIONS

A. Metals that form only one cation

The name of the cation of a metal that forms only one cation is the same
as the name of the metal (with the word ion added if the cation is by itself).

Example:
Na+ - sodium ion
Ca2+ - calcium ion
Al3+ - aluminum ion
 CATIONS

B. Metals that form more than one cation

They can be named in two ways: stock system and –ous/-ic suffix system.

1.) In the STOCK SYSTEM ( by 2.) In the –OUS/-IC SUFFIX SYSTEM

Alfred Stock), the cation is named using (older system), the cation is named
the cation name and the positive charge using its Latin name; the cation with the
on the metal is indicated by a roman higher charge is named with the suffix –
numeral enclosed in parenthesis. ic and the cation with the lower charge
is named with the suffix -ous.
 CATIONS
B. Metals that form more than one cation
 ANIONS

Anions are negatively charge which can be:

A. Monoatomic Anions

B. Polyatomic Anions
 ANIONS

A. Monoatomic Anions

They are named by adding the suffix -ide to the root of the name of the
parent element (rootword + -IDE)
Example:
Cl− - chloride O2− - oxide P3− - phosphide
N3− - nitride (also called azide) C4− - carbide

Since the charges on these ions can be predicted from their position in the periodic table, it
is not necessary to specify the charge in the name.
 ANIONS

B. Polyatomic Anions
 Polyatomic anions that contain a single metal or nonmetal atom plus one
or more oxygen atoms are called oxoanions (or oxyanions).

 In cases where only two oxoanions are known for an element, the name of the
oxoanion with more oxygen atoms ends in -ate, and the name of the oxoanion
with fewer oxygen atoms ends in -ite.

 Example:
NO3− - nitrate and NO2− - nitrite
PO43- - phosphate and PO33- - phosphite
RULES OF NAMING SYSTEMATICALLY
INORGANIC COMPOUNDS

A. General Ionic Rule

B. Compounds of Two Nonmetals

C. Acids
 GENERAL IONIC RULE
 
General Formula: name of cation name of anion (RW + ide)
Chemical Formula Cation Name Anion Name Compound Name
EXAMPLE: LiOH
Fe(OH)3 lithium hydroxide lithium hydroxide
iron (III) hydroxide iron (III) hydroxide
BASES Al(OH)3
ferric ferric hydroxide

CaO aluminum hydroxide aluminum hydroxide

PbO2 calcium oxide calcium oxide
lead (IV) oxide lead (IV) oxide
METALLI plumbic plumbic oxide
Cu2O
C OXIDES copper (I) oxide copper (I) oxide
cuprous cuprous oxide
Na2S
sodium sulfide sodium sulfide
Mg3(PO4)2
magnesium phosphate magnesium phosphate
SALTS KMnO4
potassium permanganate potassium permanganate
 COMPOUNDS OF TWO NONMETALS
 

General Formula:
Greek prefix + name of cation Greek prefix + name of anion (RW + ide)
 

Chemical Formula Compound Name

EXAMPLE:
SO2 sulfur dioxide
N2O dinitrogen monoxide

PF3 phosphorus trifluoride

CS2 carbon disulfide

If the Greek prefix ends in “a” or “o” and the word that follows starts with “a” or “o”, drop the a or o of
the Greek prefix and connect it to the next word
 ACIDS
 
Acids are compounds that contains hydrogen ion (H+) as the cation and an
anion which can be a nonmetal or oxoanion thus an acid can be binary or
ternary acids.

A. Binary Acid

B. Ternary Acids
 BINARY ACIDS

A. Binary Acids in Aqueous Solution

B. Binary Acids in Gaseous Form

 BINARY ACIDS
A. Binary Acids in Aqueous Solution

 
General Formula: hydro + rootword + ic + acid
 

The anion for binary acid is a monatomic nonmetal with the exception of
the cyanide ion.

They are named using the prefix hydro- connected to the rootword of the
anion and the suffix –ic name plus the word acid.
 BINARY ACIDS
B. Binary Acids in Gaseous Form

 
General Formula: hydrogen name of monatomic anion

This binary acid is named using the cation name hydrogen and the name of
the monatomic anion.

EXAMPLE: Acid Formula Name of the Acid

HCl(g) hydrogen chloride
HCl(aq) hydrochloric acid
HF(aq) hydrofluoric acid
HF(g) hydrogen fluoride
 TERNARY ACIDS

A.) -ate to -ic If the anion from the acid formula is –ate ending, replace the
suffix –ate with –ic in naming the acid.

 
General Formula: rootword + ic acid
 

B.) -ite to -ous If the anion from the acid formula is –ite ending, replace the suffix –
ite with –ous in naming the acid.
 
General Formula: rootword + ous acid
 
EXAMPLE:
Acid Formula Name of the Acid
H2CO3 carbonic acid
HNO3 nitric acid
H3PO4 phosphoric acid
H2SO4 sulfuric acid
HNO2 nitrous acid
H3PO3 phosphorous acid
 PRACTICE PROBLEM

Chemical Formula Compound Name

1.) CuCl2  
2.) Hydrobromic acid 
3.) Magnesium carbonate 
4.) H2S(aq)  
5.) ICl7  
6.) Magnesium oxide 
7.) Na2SO4  
8.) Co(OH)2  
9.) HClO4  
10.) Hydrogen cyanide 
 RECAP

RULE 1: IONIC COMPOUNDS

Cations + Anions (RW + IDE)
COMMON
NAME
RULE 2: NON-METALS
NOMENCLATURE Greek Prefix + Non-metal Greek Prefix + Anion (RW + IDE)

SYSTEMATIC AQEOUS SOLUTIONS

NAME Hydro + RW + ic Acid
BINARY ACIDS
GAS/LIQUID
Hydrogen + Name of
RULE 3: Monatomic Anion (RW + IDE)
ACIDS

-ite ending Acids

RW + ous Acid
TERNARY ACIDS
-ate ending acids
RW + ic Acid
 REFLECTION

Have you ever considered your identity through your

name? If given the chance to choose your name, what will
it be? Why?
 

“A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches”

– Proverbs 22:1
 PRACTICE TASK

1.) NaOH
2.) Sodium phosphide
3.) Al2O3  
4.) Nitric acid 
5.) N2O5  
6.) Zinc sulfate 
7.) H2S (g)  
8.)  Manganese (IV) oxide
9.) HC2H3O2  
10.)  Sulfur hexafluoride