CauldronCast #1

Nomenclature of Inorganic
Compounds

Naming Simple Inorganic Compounds

Dr. Carl Hoeger
profcah

Basic Nomenclature 1

Nomenclature-History
• Early: Compounds named by those who
discovered them; usually had some historic
significance
• Oil of Vitrol
• Blue Vitrol
• Laughing gas
• Problem: No real system; region/researcher
specific; needed systematic, well-defined
nomenclature system
• Answer: IUPAC development of standardized
nomenclature schemes; some trivial names
accepted and retained

Basic Nomenclature 2

1
 Nomenclature-Basics
Two general classes of inorganic molecules:
1. Those containing a metal cation and a nonmetal anion
OR a metal cation and a polyatomic anion (ionic
compounds);
2. Those containing only nonmetals (molecular
compounds; Type III compounds)
Two different types of the first class:
a) Those whose metal has only one possible positive
oxidation state (Type I compounds);
b) Those whose metal has more than one possible positive
oxidation state (Type II compounds)
The nomenclature scheme reflects the compounds
class/type

Basic Nomenclature 3

“Type I” Elements
+11 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
VIII
IA
A
+3
H
1

1.00
+2 +2 IIIA IVA VA VIA VII
2
He
4.002
8 IIA A
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Li Be B C N O F Ne
6.94 9.01 10.8 12.0 14.0 16.0 19.0 20.18
1 2 1 1 1 0 0
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Mg
Na Al Si P S Cl Ar
24.3
22.9 VII 26.9 28.0 30.9 32.0 35.4 39.95
0
9 IIIB IVB VB VIB B VIII VIII VIII IB IIB 8 9 7 6 5
19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36
K Ca Sc Ti V Cr Mn Fe Co Ni Cu Zn Ga Ge As Se Br Kr
39.1 40.0 44.9 47.9 50.9 52.0 54.9 55.8 58.9 58.7 63.5 65.3 69.7 72.5 74.9 78.9 79.9 83.80
0 8 6 0 4 0 4 5 3 0 5 8 2 9 2 6 0
37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54
Rb Sr Y Zr Nb Mo Tc Ru Rh Pd Ag Cd In Sn Sb Te I Xe
85.4 87.6 88.9 91.2 92.9 95.9 (99) 101. 102. 106. 107. 112. 114. 118. 121. 127. 126. 131.3
7 2 1 2 1 4 1 9 4 9 4 8 7 8 6 9
55 56 57 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86
Cs Ba La Hf Ta W Re Os Ir Pt Au Hg Tl Pb Bi Po At Rn
132. 137. 138. 178. 180. 183. 186. 190. 192. 195. 197. 200. 204. 207. 209. (209 (210 (222)
9 3 9 5 9 9 2 2 2 1 0 6 4 2 0 ) )
87 88 89 104 105 106 107 108 109 110
Fr Ra Ac Rf Db Sg Bh Hs Mt Db
(223
)
226.
0
227.
0
(261
)
(262
)
(263
)
(262
)
(265) (266 (269
) ) +1
58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71
Ce Pr Nd Pm Sm Eu Gd Tb Dy Ho Er Tm Yb Lu
Lanthanide series 140. 140. 144. (147 150. 152. 157. 158. 162. 164. 167. 168. 173. 175.
1 9 2 ) 4 0 3 9 5 9 3 9 0 0
90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103
Actinide series Th Pa U Np Pu Am Cm Bk Cf Es Fm Md No Lr
232. 231. 238. (237 (244 (243 (247 (247 (251 (252 (257 (258 (259 (260
0 0 0 ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

= Type I = Type II = Type III = Does not

Metal Metal Non-metal form
compounds

Basic Nomenclature 4

2
 “Type II” Elements
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
VIII
IA
A
1 2
H He
1.00 IIIA IVA VA VIA VII 4.002
8 IIA A
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Li Be B C N O F Ne
6.94 9.01 10.8 12.0 14.0 16.0 19.0 20.18
1 2 1 1 1 0 0
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Mg
Na Al Si P S Cl Ar
24.3
22.9 VII 26.9 28.0 30.9 32.0 35.4 39.95
0
9 IIIB IVB VB VIB B VIII VIII VIII IB IIB 8 9 7 6 5
19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36
K Ca Sc Ti V Cr Mn Fe Co Ni Cu Zn Ga Ge As Se Br Kr
39.1 40.0 44.9 47.9 50.9 52.0 54.9 55.8 58.9 58.7 63.5 65.3 69.7 72.5 74.9 78.9 79.9 83.80
0 8 6 0 4 0 4 5 3 0 5 8 2 9 2 6 0
37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54
Rb Sr Y Zr Nb Mo Tc Ru Rh Pd Ag Cd In Sn Sb Te I Xe
85.4 87.6 88.9 91.2 92.9 95.9 (99) 101. 102. 106. 107. 112. 114. 118. 121. 127. 126. 131.3
7 2 1 2 1 4 1 9 4 9 4 8 7 8 6 9
55 56 57 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86
Cs Ba La Hf Ta W Re Os Ir Pt Au Hg Tl Pb Bi Po At Rn
132. 137. 138. 178. 180. 183. 186. 190. 192. 195. 197. 200. 204. 207. 209. (209 (210 (222)
9 3 9 5 9 9 2 2 2 1 0 6 4 2 0 ) )
87 88 89 104 105 106 107 108 109 110
Fr Ra Ac Rf Db Sg Bh Hs Mt Db
(223 226. 227. (261 (262 (263 (262 (265) (266 (269
) 0 0 ) ) ) ) ) )

58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71
Ce Pr Nd Pm Sm Eu Gd Tb Dy Ho Er Tm Yb Lu
Lanthanide series 140. 140. 144. (147 150. 152. 157. 158. 162. 164. 167. 168. 173. 175.
1 9 2 ) 4 0 3 9 5 9 3 9 0 0
90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103
Actinide series Th Pa U Np Pu Am Cm Bk Cf Es Fm Md No Lr
232. 231. 238. (237 (244 (243 (247 (247 (251 (252 (257 (258 (259 (260
0 0 0 ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

= Type I = Type II = Type III = Does not

Metal Metal Non-metal form
compounds

Basic Nomenclature 5

“Type III” Elements: Nonmetals

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
VIII
IA
A
1 2
H He
1.00 IIIA IVA VA VIA VII 4.002
8 IIA A
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Li Be B C N O F Ne
6.94 9.01 10.8 12.0 14.0 16.0 19.0 20.18
1 2 1 1 1 0 0
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Mg
Na Al Si P S Cl Ar
24.3
22.9 VII 26.9 28.0 30.9 32.0 35.4 39.95
0
9 IIIB IVB VB VIB B VIII VIII VIII IB IIB 8 9 7 6 5
19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36
K Ca Sc Ti V Cr Mn Fe Co Ni Cu Zn Ga Ge As Se Br Kr
39.1 40.0 44.9 47.9 50.9 52.0 54.9 55.8 58.9 58.7 63.5 65.3 69.7 72.5 74.9 78.9 79.9 83.80
0 8 6 0 4 0 4 5 3 0 5 8 2 9 2 6 0
37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54
Rb Sr Y Zr Nb Mo Tc Ru Rh Pd Ag Cd In Sn Sb Te I Xe
85.4 87.6 88.9 91.2 92.9 95.9 (99) 101. 102. 106. 107. 112. 114. 118. 121. 127. 126. 131.3
7 2 1 2 1 4 1 9 4 9 4 8 7 8 6 9
55 56 57 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86
Cs Ba La Hf Ta W Re Os Ir Pt Au Hg Tl Pb Bi Po At Rn
132. 137. 138. 178. 180. 183. 186. 190. 192. 195. 197. 200. 204. 207. 209. (209 (210 (222)
9 3 9 5 9 9 2 2 2 1 0 6 4 2 0 ) )
87 88 89 104 105 106 107 108 109 110
Fr Ra Ac Rf Db Sg Bh Hs Mt Db
(223 226. 227. (261 (262 (263 (262 (265) (266 (269
) 0 0 ) ) ) ) ) )

58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71
Ce Pr Nd Pm Sm Eu Gd Tb Dy Ho Er Tm Yb Lu
Lanthanide series 140. 140. 144. (147 150. 152. 157. 158. 162. 164. 167. 168. 173. 175.
1 9 2 ) 4 0 3 9 5 9 3 9 0 0
90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103
Actinide series Th Pa U Np Pu Am Cm Bk Cf Es Fm Md No Lr
232. 231. 238. (237 (244 (243 (247 (247 (251 (252 (257 (258 (259 (260
0 0 0 ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

= Type I = Type II = Type III = Does not

Metal Metal Non-metal form
compounds

Basic Nomenclature 6

3
 Nomenclature Periodic Table
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
VIII
IA
A
1 2
H He
1.00 IIIA IVA VA VIA VII 4.002
8 IIA A
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Li Be B C N O F Ne
6.94 9.01 10.8 12.0 14.0 16.0 19.0 20.18
1 2 1 1 1 0 0
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Mg
Na Al Si P S Cl Ar
24.3
22.9 VII 26.9 28.0 30.9 32.0 35.4 39.95
0
9 IIIB IVB VB VIB B VIII VIII VIII IB IIB 8 9 7 6 5
19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36
K Ca Sc Ti V Cr Mn Fe Co Ni Cu Zn Ga Ge As Se Br Kr
39.1 40.0 44.9 47.9 50.9 52.0 54.9 55.8 58.9 58.7 63.5 65.3 69.7 72.5 74.9 78.9 79.9 83.80
0 8 6 0 4 0 4 5 3 0 5 8 2 9 2 6 0
37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54
Rb Sr Y Zr Nb Mo Tc Ru Rh Pd Ag Cd In Sn Sb Te I Xe
85.4 87.6 88.9 91.2 92.9 95.9 (99) 101. 102. 106. 107. 112. 114. 118. 121. 127. 126. 131.3
7 2 1 2 1 4 1 9 4 9 4 8 7 8 6 9
55 56 57 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86
Cs Ba La Hf Ta W Re Os Ir Pt Au Hg Tl Pb Bi Po At Rn
132. 137. 138. 178. 180. 183. 186. 190. 192. 195. 197. 200. 204. 207. 209. (209 (210 (222)
9 3 9 5 9 9 2 2 2 1 0 6 4 2 0 ) )
87 88 89 104 105 106 107 108 109 110
Fr Ra Ac Rf Db Sg Bh Hs Mt Db
(223 226. 227. (261 (262 (263 (262 (265) (266 (269
) 0 0 ) ) ) ) ) )

58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71
Ce Pr Nd Pm Sm Eu Gd Tb Dy Ho Er Tm Yb Lu
Lanthanide series 140. 140. 144. (147 150. 152. 157. 158. 162. 164. 167. 168. 173. 175.
1 9 2 ) 4 0 3 9 5 9 3 9 0 0
90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103
Actinide series Th Pa U Np Pu Am Cm Bk Cf Es Fm Md No Lr
232. 231. 238. (237 (244 (243 (247 (247 (251 (252 (257 (258 (259 (260
0 0 0 ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

= Type I = Type II = Type III = Does not

Metal Metal Non-metal form
compounds

Basic Nomenclature 7

Nomenclature: Cation Basics

To name a cation (or the first element in a Type III
compound):
 Type I: Use the name of the element; if you are talking
about an ion by itself put ‘ion’ after the name:
Na+ = sodium ion; Mg+2 = magnesium ion
Special cations: NH4+ = ammonium ion;
H3O+ = hydronium ion
 Type II: Use the name of the element AND its
oxidation state (or charge); use roman numerals in
parentheses to denote this; if you are talking about an
ion by itself put ‘ion’ after the name:
Cu+2 = copper (II) ion; Cr+6 = chromium (IV) ion
 Type III : Use the name; denote number of that
element present using greek prefixes (more later)

Basic Nomenclature 8

4
 Nomenclature: Anion Basics
To name a monatomic anion (OR the second element in a
binary Type III compound):
 For ALL: Take the root name of the element and add
-ide to the end: if you are talking about an ion by itself
put ‘ion’ after the name:
Cl- = chloride ion; S-2 = sulfide ion; P-3 = phosphide ion
 Type III Compounds ONLY: Add to the name of the
second element a prefix denoting how many of that
element there are:
XO2 would be “X dioxide”
 POLYATOMIC ANIONS: These have their own
nomenclature you need to know

Basic Nomenclature 9

Nomenclature: Polyatomic Anions

Learn these polyatomic anions NOW:
HCO3- Hydrogen carbonate NO3- Nitrate
HS- Hydrogen sulfide NO2- Nitrite
HSO4- Hydrogen sulfate OH - Hydroxide
HSO3- Hydrogen sulfite MnO4- Permanganate
H2PO4- Dihydrogen phosphate CO3-2 Carbonate
ClO4- Perchlorate SO4-2 Sulfate
ClO3- Chlorate SO3 -2 Sulfite
ClO2- Chlorite C2O4-2 Oxalate
ClO- Hypochlorite CrO4-2 Chromate
BrO3- Bromate Cr2O7-2 Dichromate
BrO2- Bromite SCN- Thiocyanate
BrO- Hypobromite CN- Cyanide
IO4- Periodate HPO4-2 Hydrogen Phosphate
IO3- Iodate PO4-3 Phosphate
C2H3O2- Acetate
Basic Nomenclature 10

5
 Nomenclature: Polyatomic Anions
Learn these polyatomic anions NOW:
HCO3 - Hydrogen carbonate NO3- Nitrate
HS- Hydrogen sulfide NO2- Nitrite
HSO4- Hydrogen sulfate OH- Hydroxide
HSO3- Hydrogen sulfite MnO4- Permanganate
H2PO4- Dihydrogen phosphate CO3-2 Carbonate
ClO4- Perchlorate SO4-2 Sulfate
ClO3- Chlorate SO3-2 Sulfite
ClO2- Chlorite C2O4 -2 Oxalate
ClO- Hypochlorite CrO4-2 Chromate
BrO3- Bromate Cr2O7-2 Dichromate
BrO2- Bromite SCN- Thiocyanate
BrO- Hypobromite CN - Cyanide
IO4- Periodate HPO4-2 Hydrogen Phosphate
IO3- Iodate PO4-3 Phosphate
C2H3O2- Acetate
Basic Nomenclature 11

Nomenclature: Oxyanions
Systematic nomenclature based on oxoacids of origin;
End in -ate or -ite; may have per- or hypo- as prefixes;
Learn name, formula, and charge of all -ate ions, then:
a) If an ion has ONE LESS oxygen than the -ate ion, change -ate to
-ite (charge does not change!);
b) If an ion has TWO LESS oxygens than the -ate ion, change -ate
to -ite and add hypo- as a prefix (charge does not change!);
c) If an ion has ONE MORE oxygen than the -ate ion, add per- as a
prefix (charge does not change!).
One One Two
more O lessO less O
ClO4 ClO3 ClO2 ClO

perchlorate chlorate chlorite hypochlorite

Basic Nomenclature 12

6
 Nomenclature: Type I and II Compounds
Simple: take name of cation and anion and
combine:
CaCl2 = calcium chloride
ZnS = zinc sulfide
Ba3(PO4)2 = barium phosphate
CrO3 = chromium (VI) oxide
PbI4 = lead (IV) oxide
Fe2O3 = iron (III) oxide

Basic Nomenclature 13

Determining cation charge for Type II ions

• Based on knowing your anions and their
charges!
• A compound is neutral and has a charge of
zero.
• The sum of all the oxidation states in a
compound must equal the overall charge on the
ion or molecule.
• Set up and solve for the unknown algebraically;
so for Fe2O3:
"#( # irons ) ! ( charge of iron ) $% + "#( # oxygens ) ! ( charge of oxygen ) $% = charge of Fe 2O 3
"#( 2x ) $% + "#( 3( &2 )) $% = 0; solve to get x = +3

Basic Nomenclature 14

7
 Nomenclature: Type III Compounds

1. START by naming as if it were a Type I compound:

N2F4: nitrogen fluoride
2. THEN add a greek prefix to tell how MANY of each
element there are:
N2F4: dinitrogen tetrafluoride
* Note: if there is only one of the first element, the
prefix mono is NOT used:
SO2 is sulfur dioxide NOT monosulfur dioxide

1 = mono 2 = di 3 = tri 4 = tetra 5 = penta

6 = hexa 7 = hepta 8 = octa 9 = nona 10 = deca

Basic Nomenclature 15

Nomenclature: Practice
Try the following:

C2O4 SeO4
Na2SO3 Al2Cr2O7
MgO Mo(CO3)2 Give yourself five minutes
CrO2 Rh(NO3)5
P5O10 H2 O
AsO3 N2 O

Basic Nomenclature 16

8
 Nomenclature: Practice
Answers:

C2O4 dicarbon tetroxide

Na2SO3 sodium sulfite
MgO magnesium oxide
CrS2 chromium (IV) sulfide
P5O10 pentaphosphorous decoxide
AsO3 arsenic trioxide

Basic Nomenclature 17

Nomenclature: Practice
Answers:

SeO4 selenium tetroxide

Al2Cr2O7 aluminum dichromate
Mo(CO3)2 molybdenum (IV) carbonate
Rh(NO3)5 rhodium (V) nitrate
H2O dihydrogen monoxide
N2O dinitrogen monoxide

Basic Nomenclature 18

9
 Nomenclature: Exceptions (1)
1. Some compounds have been known and used for so long
that their trivial (or common names) have become
accepted by the IUPAC as official:

H2O = water CH4 = methane PH3 = phosphine

NH3 = ammonia SiH4 = silane N2H4 = hydrazine

2. Oxides of some nonmetals will sometimes be named as if

they were Type II compounds:

P2O5 = phosphorous (V) oxide; SeO4 = selenium (VI) oxide

Note: this is an older system that is slowly being phased out

Basic Nomenclature 19

Nomenclature: Exceptions (2)

3. For Type II metals with only two common oxidation states an
older, Latin system was once used; while it is not employed
very often it is useful to know some simple rules regarding it.
It is sometimes called the “-ous/-ic” system, where the
LOWER charged cation will be denoted by the latin root
name for that element plus -ous and the HIGHER charged
cation will be denoted by the latin root name for that element
plus -ic :

Fe2+ = ferrous ion/Fe3+ = ferric ion; Sn2+ = stannous ion/Sn4+ = stannic ion
Not used much but still can be found being employed

4. Compounds containing hydrogen listed as the first element are

acids and named differently, as are many carbon compounds.

Basic Nomenclature 20

10
 Acid Nomenclature
An acid is a compound that contains an acidic
hydrogen (a H that ionizes in water) :
" H + (aq) + X – (aq)
HX(aq) !!
Not all hydrogens are ionizable; by convention, to
indicate when one IS, we begin the chemical
formula with it:
HC2H3O2 (acetic acid) has four hydrogens but only ONE
is acidic (underlined for emphasis)
There are two types of acids: binary and oxoacids

Basic Nomenclature 21

Binary Acid Nomenclature

For BINARY acids (HX(aq), where X does NOT
contain oxygen; it MUST be in aqueous solution);
Add hydro…ic acid to the root of the element X:
H2 S(aq) = hydrosulfuric acid; HI(aq) = hydroiodic acid;
HN3 (aq) = hydrazoic acid

Note: if phase is NOT aqueous, name as if it were a Type I

compound (even though they are considered to be
molecular in nature):

H2 S(g) = hydrogen sulfide; HI(g) = hydrogen iodide;

HN3 (l) = hydrogen azide

Basic Nomenclature 22

11
 Oxoacid Nomenclature
If the acid contains oxygen (HOX or HXOn) its name will be a
function of the name of the anion portion (i.e. the portion
remaining after all the acidic H’s have been removed: OX- or
XOn-); so:
– Determine the anion name;
If the name ends in -ate, replace -ate with -ic acid
If the name ends in -ite, replace -ite with -ous acid

Leave prefixes alone; the root name is sometimes tweaked to aid in

pronunciation

H2SO4(aq) → anion is SO4-2 (sulfate) → acid name is sulfuric acid

HClO(aq) → anion is ClO- (hypochlorite) → acid name is hypochlorous acid

Basic Nomenclature 23

Acid Nomenclature: Practice

Try the following:

H2 C 2 O 4 HIO4
H2SO3 H2CO3
HCN HF Give yourself five minutes
H2CrO4 HC2H3O2
H3PO4 HNO3
H2Se HNO2

Basic Nomenclature 24

12
 Acid Nomenclature: Practice
Answers:

H2 C 2 O 4 oxalic acid
H2SO3 sulfurous acid
HCN hydrocyanic acid
H2CrO4 chromic acid
H3PO4 phosphoric acid
H2Se hydroselenic acid

Basic Nomenclature 25

Acid Nomenclature: Practice

Answers:

HIO4 periodic acid

H2CO3 carbonic acid
HF hydrofluoric acid
HC2H3O2 acetic acid
HNO3 nitric acid
HNO2 nitrous acid

Basic Nomenclature 26

13