Naming Chemical Compounds Worksheet With Answer Key - Germanna Community College printable pdf download

Naming Chemical Compounds Worksheet With Answer Key - Germanna Community College

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.

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 Fe

are ionic compounds; they each contain a metal (Na and Fe) and a non-metal (Cl

and O), and they do not have charges. MnO

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; Al

= 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; Fe

= iron (II) ion; Fe

iron (III) ion

iii. Cations formed from nonmetal ions have names ending in –ium.

These are not common; the main ones are NH

(ammonium ion)

and H

(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; O

= 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; O

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

Naming Compounds

Provided by Tutoring Services

Updated October 2013

Naming Chemical Compounds Worksheet With Answer Key - Germanna Community College

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