Lesson 5.

Writing and Naming

Covalent Compounds

General Chemistry 1
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
About 71% of the Earth’s surface is covered with water, existing either
as saltwater or as freshwater. The water on Earth also come in the
form of glaciers and icebergs.

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Each molecule of water is
made up of two atoms of
hydrogen and one atom of
oxygen. Hence, it is
scientifically called
dihydrogen monoxide. The
atoms in water are held
together by a type of
chemical bond called a
covalent bond. 3
From the previous lesson, you have learned all about salts
or ionic compounds—how they are formed, how they are
written as a chemical formula, and how they are named. In
this lesson, you will learn all about the other type of
compound called covalent compounds.

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What are covalent
compounds and how are
they formed?

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Learning Competency
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:

Name compounds given their formula and

write formula given the name of the
compound (STEM_GC11AM-Ic-e-23).

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 Learning Objectives
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:

● Define covalent compounds.

● Describe covalent bond formation.

● Write the chemical formula of covalent

compounds.

● Name covalent compounds.

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 Formation of Covalent Compounds

● Recall that atoms tend to gain or lose electrons such

that they achieve a noble gas electron configuration.

● A positively-charged cation interacts with a negatively-

charged anion through electrostatic forces of
attraction. The resulting bond between them is called
an ionic bond and the resulting compound is called an
ionic compound.

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 Formation of Covalent Compounds

● Covalent compounds are compounds that are formed

when two or more nonmetals form a bond with each
other.

● The bond that holds these nonmetals together is

stabilized by electron-sharing and is called a covalent
bond.

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 Covalent Bonds

● Electron-sharing occurs because atoms tend to gain

more stability when their valence shell is completely
filled.

● A full valence shell is often characterized by a complete

set of eight electrons, which is why this phenomenon is
often called the octet rule.

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 Octet Rule

● The octet rule is a general rule of thumb that

describes the tendency of atoms to have a complete
set of eight electrons in their valence shell.
● Atoms prefer this because they achieve noble gas
configuration.
● Recall that s orbitals can accommodate up to 2
electrons only while p orbitals can accommodate up to
six electrons, thus summing up to eight electrons.

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 Octet Rule

● Each hydrogen atom has only one

electron in its valence shell (H
electron configuration: 1s1).

● The oxygen atom has six

electrons in its valence shell (O
electron configuration: 1s22s22p4).

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 Octet Rule

When each hydrogen atom shares its electron to oxygen,

the valence shell of oxygen acquires eight electrons

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Remember

Ionic compounds are formed from the

transfer of electron(s) between a cation
and an anion. This electron-transfer
forms an ionic bond. Meanwhile, covalent
compounds are formed from the sharing
of electron(s) between nonmetal
elements. This electron-sharing forms a
covalent bond.
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Why does the hydrogen atom in
water violates the octet rule by
having only two electrons in its
valence shell?

15
 Writing Chemical Formulas

● Covalent compounds are made up of two or more

nonmetals that are chemically bonded together.

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 Writing Chemical Formulas

● Covalent compounds are made up of two or more

nonmetals that are chemically bonded together.

● One characteristic of covalent compounds is that they

are named using the Greek prefixes mono-, di-, tri-,
tetra- and so on.

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 Writing Chemical Formulas

● Covalent compounds are made up of two or more

nonmetals that are chemically bonded together.

● One characteristic of covalent compounds is that they

are named using the Greek prefixes mono-, di-, tri-,
tetra- and so on.

● In addition, it also uses the suffix -ide, just like how

binary ionic compounds are named.
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How are chemical formulas of
covalent compounds
determined from their names?

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Writing Chemical Formulas

Greek Prefix Numerical Equivalent

mono- 1
di- 2
tri- 3
tetra- 4
penta- 5
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Writing Chemical Formulas

Greek Prefix Numerical Equivalent

hexa- 6
hepta- 7
octa- 8
nona- 9
deca- 10
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 Writing Chemical Formulas

One more consideration in writing the chemical formula of

covalent compounds is the unwritten rule that the Greek
prefix mono- is never used in naming the first element of
a covalent compound.

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 Writing Chemical Formulas

For example, the chemical formula for carbon dioxide is

CO2. Even though the Greek prefix mono- is absent in the
name, it is understood that there is only one carbon atom
in carbon dioxide.

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 Let’s Practice!

What is the chemical formula for the covalent

compound named nitrogen monoxide?

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 Let’s Practice!

What is the chemical formula for the covalent

compound named nitrogen monoxide?

There are one nitrogen and one oxygen in nitrogen

monoxide. Therefore, its chemical formula is NO.
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Try It!

What is the chemical formula for the

covalent compound named hydrogen
bromide?

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 Let’s Practice!

What is the chemical formula for the covalent

compound named iodine pentafluoride?

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 Let’s Practice!

What is the chemical formula for the covalent

compound named iodine pentafluoride?

There are one iodine and five fluorine atoms in iodine

pentafluoride. Therefore, its chemical formula is IF5.
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Try It!

What is the chemical formula for the

covalent compound named phosphorus
triiodide?

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 Let’s Practice!

What is the chemical formula for the covalent

compound named tetraphosphorus decoxide?

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 Let’s Practice!

What is the chemical formula for the covalent

compound named tetraphosphorus decoxide?

There are four phosphorus and ten oxygen in

tetraphosphorus decoxide. Therefore, its chemical
formula is P4O10.
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Try It!

What is the chemical formula for the

covalent compound named tetrasulfur
tetranitride?

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How are covalent compounds
named given their chemical
formulas?

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 Naming Covalent Compounds

● For binary covalent compounds, the element that is

found farthest to the left of the periodic table is
typically named first.

● If they are both in the same group, the one who is at

the lower portion of the periodic table is named first.

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 Naming Covalent Compounds

● The number of atoms of the element is indicated by

the Greek prefix. If the first element has only one atom,
then the prefix mono- is not written.

● The second element is then named by attaching the

correct Greek prefix to its stem name and then
appending the suffix -ide.

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 Naming Covalent Compounds

● For example, the covalent compound CO is named

carbon monoxide.

● The covalent compound P2O5 is diphosphorus

pentoxide and not disphosphorus pentaoxide.

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Remember

The rule for naming binary covalent

compounds is:

“prefix + name of 1st element” “prefix +

stem name of 2nd element + ide”

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 Let’s Practice!

What is the name of the covalent compound with the

chemical formula CCl4?

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 Let’s Practice!

What is the name of the covalent compound with the

chemical formula CCl4?

CCl4 is named carbon tetrachloride.

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Try It!

What is the name of the covalent

compound with the chemical formula
PBr3?

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 Let’s Practice!

What is the name of the covalent compound with the

chemical formula SO2?

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 Let’s Practice!

What is the name of the covalent compound with the

chemical formula SO2?

SO3 is named sulfur trioxide.

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Try It!

What is the name of the covalent

compound with the chemical formula N2O?

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 Let’s Practice!

What is the name of the covalent compound with the

chemical formula P4S9?

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 Let’s Practice!

What is the name of the covalent compound with the

chemical formula P4S9?

P4S9 is named tetraphosphorus nonasulfide.

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Try It!

What is the name of the covalent

compound with the chemical formula
As4O3?

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 Check Your Understanding

If the chemical formula of the covalent compound is

given, identify its name. If the name is given,
determine its chemical formula.
1. hydrogen iodide
2. P4S6
3. SeF6
4. phosphorus tribromide

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 Check Your Understanding

Complete the table.

Chemical Formula Name

1. _______________________ hydrogen iodide
P4S6 2. __________________________
SeF6 3. __________________________
4. _______________________ phosphorus tribromide

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 Let’s Sum It Up!

● Covalent compounds are compounds that are

made of nonmetals chemically bonded to each
other.
● Covalent bonds hold the atoms together in a
covalent compound. They are formed when one
or more electrons are shared between two
nonmetals.

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 Let’s Sum It Up!

● The octet rule is a general rule of thumb that

describes the tendency of atoms to have a
complete set of eight electrons in their valence
shell.

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 Let’s Sum It Up!

● In writing the chemical formula of covalent

compounds given their names, the Greek prefix
preceding an element’s name must be
considered. The numerical equivalent of the
prefix must be supplied as the element’s
subscript in the chemical formula.

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 Let’s Sum It Up!

● In naming covalent compounds given their

chemical formulas, the correct Greek prefix must
again be appended to the elements’ name. The
suffix -ide is also appended to the second
element that is named.

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 Let’s Sum It Up!

● The first element to be named in a covalent

compound is the element to the leftmost part of
the periodic table. If both elements in the
compound are in one group, the element at the
lower part of the periodic table is named first.

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Challenge Yourself

In what instance is HCl named

hydrochloric acid and in what
instance is it named hydrogen
chloride?

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Bibliography

Brown T.L. et al. 2012. Chemistry: The Central Science. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Print.

Chang, Raymond and Kenneth A. Goldsby. 2016. Chemistry. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
Print.

Petrucci, Ralph H. 2011. General Chemistry: Principles and Modern Applications. Toronto, Ontario:
Pearson Canada. Print.

Silberberg, Martin S. 2007. Principles of General Chemistry. Pennsylvania State University: McGraw-Hill
Higher Education. 2007. Print.

Whitten, Kenneth W. 2013. Chemistry (10th ed). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning. Print.

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