This document outlines rules for naming binary ionic compounds and acids. For binary ionic compounds containing a metal and nonmetal (Type I), the cation is always named first followed by the anion. For compounds where the metal can have multiple charges (Type II), an oxidation state is included. Nonmetal binary compounds (Type III) name the first element and use prefixes to indicate the number of atoms. Polyatomic ions must be memorized. Acid names are formed based on the anion, using prefixes like "hydro-" and suffixes like "-ic" or "-ous".

1. Chapter 4 Nomenclature
Section 4.1 Naming Binary Compounds
A. Naming Compounds That Contain a Metal and a Nonmetal
• __________ ionic compounds contain positive ___________ and negative ___________.
– Type I compounds
• Metal present forms only one _________
– Type II compounds
• Metal present can form 2 or more _________ with different charges
Type I Type II
Type I Binary Ionic compounds
Rules for Naming Type I Ionic Compounds
1. The cation is always named _________ and the anion ___________.
2. A simple __________ (obtained from a single atom) takes its name from the names of the ___________.
For example, Na+ is called ___________ in the names of compounds containing this ion.
3. A simple ________ (obtained from a single atom) is named by taking the _______ _____ of the element
name (the ______) and adding ____. Thus the Cl- ion is called ____________.
4. Write the name for the compound by ________________ the names of the ions.
For compounds containing both a _________ and a ____________, the metal is always named first. The
nonmetal is named from the _______ element name.
Type II Binary Ionic compounds
• Since the __________ ion can have more than one charge, a ___________ _______________ is used
to specify the charge.
B. Naming Binary Compounds That Contain Only Nonmetals
Type III Compounds
Rules for Naming Type III Binary Compounds
1. The first element in the formula is named ________, and the _____ element name is used.
2. The _________ element is named as though it were an _________.
3. Prefixes are used to denote the ______________ of atoms present.
4. The prefix mono- is _________ used for naming the _________ element. For example, CO is called
____________ _________________, not _________________ _______________.

2. Prefixes Used to Indicate Numbers in Chemical Names
Prefix Number Prefix Number
mono- 1 hexa- 6
2 7
3 8
4 nona- 9
5 deca- 10
Naming Binary Compounds Summary

3. Section 4.2 Naming and Writing Formulas for More Complex Compounds
A. Naming Compounds That Contain Polyatomic Ions
• Polyatomic ions are charged entities composed of several atoms bound together.
• They have special names and must be memorized.
• Naming ionic compounds containing polyatomic ions follows rules similar to those for binary
compounds.
B. Naming Acids
• An acid is a molecule with one or more H+ ions attached to an anion.
Rules for Naming Acids
1. If the anion does not contain oxygen, the acid is named with the prefix hydro- and the suffix –ic attached
to the root name of the for the element.
Acid Anion Name
2. When the anion contains oxygen, the acid name is formed from the root name of the central element of
the anion or the anion name, with a suffix of –ic or –ous. When the anion name ends in –ate, the suffix –ic is
used.
Acid Anion Name
When the anion name ends in –ite, the suffix –ous is used in the acid name.