Binary Ionic compound

composed of two elements –a metal and a

nonmetal

•Name the first ion

•If the first ion is a transition element other than
zinc, cadmium, or silver, you must use a Roman
Numeral with the name.
•Name the second ion by changing the suffix to –
ide.
Examples
NaCl • Name the metal
Sodium Chloride
ion
CaO Calcium Oxide

Al2S3 Aluminum Sulfide

• Name the
nonmetal ion,
MgI2 Magnesium Iodide
changing the suffix
BaNa2 to –ide.
What about the transition metals and using
roman numerals? How does that work?

Name the first ion. Since the first ion is a transition

element, you must use a Roman Numeral to
FeO represent the charge.
How do you know the charge?
Iron II Oxide
All compounds are neutral.
Oxygen has a -2 charge (group 16)
Therefore ….. Iron must have a +2 charge since
there is one iron and one oxygen. Iron gets a
Roman Numeral II.
Another Example:

MnO2
Another Example: MnO2
Name the first ion. Since it is a transition metal,
you must use a Roman Numeral.
How do you determine the Roman Numeral?
It is the same as the charge.
Manganese IV
oxide What is the charge of Mn?
All compounds are neutral.
Oxygen (group 16) has a -2 charge.
There are two oxygens and one Mn.
Therefore Mn must have a +4 charge for this
compound to be neutral.
There are three transition elements which do not require
a Roman Numeral because they have single definite
charges.
Zinc – Zn+2, Cadmium – Cd+2, Silver – Ag+1

Ag2O Name the first ion.

Silver oxide Name the second ion
changing the suffix to –ide.

ZnCl2 Name the first ion.

Zinc chloride Name the second ion
changing the suffix to –ide.
Sometimes you will see the transition elements named using
common names. Transition metals named with Roman Numerals
involves stock names.
The common names use the Latin derivative of the element’s name
with a suffix of either –ous or –ic.
The –ous suffix name corresponds with the smaller charge.
The –ic suffix name corresponds with the larger charge.
Cuprous = Copper I Ferrous = Iron II Plumbous = Lead II
Cupric = Copper II Ferric = Iron III Plumbic = Lead IV

• There are many more – just be familiar with these six common names.
How do you write formulas for binary ionic
compounds given the name?
Two simple steps:
1.Write the symbol and charge of each ion
2.Balance the charges by providing subscripts
Magnesium chloride • Write the symbol and charge of each ion.
Mg+2 Cl-1 + Cl-1 • Balance the charges by supplying subscripts.
Subscripts tell how many of each atom is
present.
MgCl2 • You need a second Cl-1 to balance the charges
Examples: Iron III bromide

Fe+3 Br -1 Write the symbol and charge of each ion.

Br -1 The charge of the iron is provided by the
Br -1 Roman Numeral.

FeBr3 Balance the charges by supplying

subscripts. The subscripts tell how many
of each ion is needed to balance the
compound.

You’ll need three bromine ions to balance

the one iron.
Aluminum Sulfide
Al+3 S-2 Write the symbol and charge of each ion.
+3 S -2
Al
S-2
Balance the charges by supplying subscripts.
In this case, the charges do not evenly
divide into each other. You must find the

Al2S3 least common multiple. SIX

How many aluminums are needed to arrive
at a +6 charge? 2
How many sulfurs are needed to arrive at a -
6 charge? 3
How do you recognize Ternary Ionic Compounds?
Composed of two ions in which at least one is a
polyatomic ion.
There is only one positive polyatomic ion (NH4+1)
Three possible types of Ternary Ionic Compounds:
•Ammonium + negative ion (nonmetal)
•Metal (positive ion) + negative polyatomic ion
•Ammonium + negative polyatomic ion
NH4Cl Name the first ion.

Ammonium chloride Name the second ion.

Notice that since the second ion is a nonmetal that, like binary ionic
compounds, the suffix of the nonmetal changes to –ide.

Name the first ion.

(NH4)3PO4
Ammonium phosphate Name the second ion.
Example:

Cu2SO4
Example: Name the first ion.
Cu2SO4 You should realize that you need a
Roman Numeral since copper is a
Copper I sulfate transition metal.

The Roman Numeral is the same as the

charge.
What is the charge?
The charge of sulfate is -2.
Since there are two coppers, the charge
of the copper must be +1.
How do you write formulas for Ternary Ionic Compounds?
Very much like writing formulas for Binary Ionic
Compounds.
Two steps:
•Write the formulas/symbols of each ion.
•Balance the charges by supplying subscripts.
•If a subscript is needed for a polyatomic ion, it must be
put in parentheses with the subscript on the outside.
Lead (IV) acetate Write the formula/symbol and charge of
each ion.
Pb+4 C2H3O2-1
Balance the charges by supplying subscripts.
Pb(C2H3O2)4 Since Pb is +4 and C2H3O2 is -1, you will
need 4 C2H3O2-1 to balance 1Pb+4

Write the formula/symbol and charge of

Calcium phosphate
each ion.
Ca+2 PO4-3
Balance the charges by supplying subscripts.
Since Ca is +2 and PO4 is -3, you will need 3
Ca3(PO4)2 Ca+2 to balance 2 PO4-3
 SAMPLE PROBLEM
1.) WRITE THE CORRECT FORMULA FOR:
A.) Magnesium phosphate A.) Mg3(PO4)2
B.) NH4 NO3
B.) Ammonium nitrate
C.) Iron (III) sulfate C.) Fe2(SO4)3
D.) Copper (III) carbonate D.) CuCO3
2.) GIVE THE NAME OF EACH OF THE FOLLOWING:

A.) K2 CrO4 A.) Potassium chromate

B.) Zn ( NO3 )2 B.) Zinc nitrate
C.) CuCLO3 C.) Copper (I) chlorate
D.) FeSO4 D.) Iron (II) sulfate
E.) Sn(OH)4 E.) Tin (IV) hydroxide
 BINARY MOLECULAR
- CONTAINING TWO NON METALS
◦ A compound containing two non-metals is said to be covalent
and therefore, its chemical formula must contain the total
number of atoms.
◦ It is therefore necessary to used prefixes to indicate the
number of atoms present since there are no charges to
balance.
◦ The prefix mono is seldom used. As in binary ionic compounds,
the first non-metal is named in full and the ending of the second
non-metal is changed to -ide
CO2
Carbon dioxide
Name the first element. Since there is
CO only one, no prefix is needed. The
second element always gets a prefix
Carbon monoxide
and a suffix of –ide.
N2O4
Dinitrogen tetraoxide
Name the first element. Since there
H2 O are two present, the prefix “di” is
Dihydrogen monoxide needed. The second element always
gets a prefix and a suffix of –ide.
CCl4
Carbon tetrachloride
AlCl3 Be careful. This is a metal and nonmetal.
Always keep your Periodic Table in front of you for
reference.
This is a binary IONIC compound. No prefixes are
used. Simply aluminum chloride.

Given the names of binary molecular compounds, how do you write

the formulas?
The prefixes tell you how to write the formulas. Do not consider
charges. Nonmetals are all negative.
Silicon dioxide Silicon and oxygen are both nonmetals.

SiO2
The lack of a prefix on silicon means that there
is only ONE silicon.
The prefix “di” in front of oxide means that
there are TWO oxygens.
Diphosphorous pentachloride
P2Cl5 Phosphorous and chloride are both nonmetals.
The prefix “di” means that there are TWO
phosphorous. The prefix “penta” before chlorine
means that there are five chlorines.
Nitrogen monoxide
Nitrogen and oxygen are both

NO nonmetals.
The lack of a prefix on nitrogen
means only ONE nitrogen.
The prefix “mono” on oxygen
indicates ONE oxygen.
WRITE THE CHEMICAL FORMULAS OF:

A.) Carbon dioxide

B.) Dinitrogen trioxide
C.) Carbon disulfide
D.) Sulfur trioxide
E.) Diphosphorus pentoxide
What are Binary Acids?

Binary means two elements

Acid means it contains hydrogen
The second element is a nonmetal
hydrogen – nonmetal
Given the name, how do you write formulas for binary acids?
The obvious pattern of the name tells you that it is a binary acid.
Hydro<NM>ic Acid.
Therefore, you know that the acids begins with hydrogen and contains
a nonmetal which you can identify between the “Hydro” and the “ic”
To arrive at the formula, you “pretend” that hydrogen is +1 and using
the normal charge of the nonmetal, balance the formula by supplying
subscripts.
Hydrofluoric Acid The name tells you that this is a binary
acid.
H+1 F-1
HF
Hydrophosphoric acid The name tells you that it is
definitely a binary acid.
H+1 P-3
H3P
Remember that the P has a -3 charge because it is in
group 15
Ternary Acids.

These compounds begin with hydrogen since they

are “acids”.
Attached to the hydrogen is a polyatomic ion
Hydrogen – polyatomic ion
Hypochlorous acid
This is a Ternary acid (does not begin with “hydro-”.
H+1 ClO-1
The “-ous” suffix indicates that the polyatomic ion in
this acid has a suffix of “-ite” - hypochlorite
HClO Pretend that hydrogen is +1 and balance the
charges.

This is a Ternary acid (does not begin with “hydro-”.

Phosphoric acid
The “-ic” suffix indicates that the polyatomic ion in
this acid has a suffix of “-ate” - phosphate
H3PO4 Pretend that hydrogen is +1 and balance the
charges.