Common Ions

Note that there are patterns. Flash cards help. Please know formulas, names, charges.
In formulas, the cation is listed first, followed by the anion.
In names, the cation precedes the anion.

1
1A
1
H

All monatomic ions formed by main group elements in columns 1A, 2A, and 7A
Nonmetals in groups 5A and 6A; Al3+ in group 3A
Cations:

metal name ion

charge = A column number
nonmetal root ide ion
charge = 8 A column number

Anions:

NH4+

ammonium ion

OH-

hydroxide

C2H3O2- acetate

NO3NO2-

nitrate
nitrite

SO42SO32-

sulfate
sulfite

HSO4HSO3-

hydrogen sulfate
hydrogen sulfite

Cu+
Cu2+
Hg22+
Hg2+
Fe2+
Fe3+

copper (I)
copper (II)
mercury (I)
mercury (II)
iron (II)
iron (III)

Sn2+ tin (II)

Sn4+ tin (IV)

Pb2+ lead (II)

Pb4+ lead (IV)

CO32HCO3PO43PO33-

carbonate
hydrogen carbonate
phosphate
phosphite

HPO42HPO32H2PO4H2PO3-

hydrogen phosphate
hydrogen phosphite
dihydrogen phosphate
dihydrogen phosphite

18
8A
2
He

2
2A

13
3A

14
4A

15
5A

16
6A

17
7A

+1, -1
3
Li

4
Be

5
B

6
C

7
N

8
O

9
F

10
Ne

+1
11
Na

+2
12
Mg

13
Al

14
Si

-3
15
P

-2
16
S

-1
17
Cl

18
Ar

+1
19
K

+2
20
Ca

+3
31
Ga

32
Ge

-3
33
As

-2
34
Se

-1
35
Br

36
Kr

+1
37
Rb

+2
38
Sr

49
In

50
Sn

51
Sb

-2
52
Te

-1
53
I

54
Xe

+1
55
Cs

+2
56
Ba

+1, +3
81
Tl

+2, +4
82
Pb

83
Bi

84
Po

-1
85
At

86
Rn

+1
87
Fr

+2
88
Ra

+1, +3
113
Uut

+2, +4
114
Uuq

115
Uup

116
Uuh

-1
117
Uus

118
Uuo

+1

+2

3
3B

4
4B

5
5B

6
6B

7
7B

8
8B

9
8B

10
8B

11
1B

12
2B

21
Sc

22
Ti

23
V

24
Cr

25
Mn

26
Fe

27
Co

28
Ni

29
Cu

30
Zn

39
Y

40
Zr

>1
41
Nb

>1
42
Mo

>1
43
Tc

+2, +3
44
Ru

>1
45
Rh

+2
46
Pd

+1, +2
47
Ag

+2
48
Cd

71
Lu

72
Hf

73
Ta

74
W

75
Re

76
Os

77
Ir

78
Pt

+1
79
Au

80
Hg

103
Lr

104
Rf

105
Db

106
Sg

107
Bh

108
Hs

109
Mt

110
Ds

+1, +3
111
Rg

+1, +2
112
Uub

Cobalt, chromium, manganese, and vanadium also

require Roman numerals. Look at the anion to determine the charge.
Ag+
H3O+

silver
hydronium

Cd2+
Ni2+
Zn2+

cadmium
nickel
zinc

CNSCNMnO4-

cyanide
thiocyanate
permanganate

ClO4perchlorate
ClO3chlorate
ClO2chlorite
ClOhypochlorite
(similarly for bromine and iodine)

CONGRATULATIONS! Youve memorized the whole table.

CrO42Cr2O72C2O42O22-

chromate
dichromate
oxalate
peroxide

Common Ions (learn these)

Positive ions (cations)
+1 Charge
ammonium (NH4+)
copper (I) or cuprous (Cu+)
hydrogen (H+) proton
silver (Ag+)
hydronium ion (H3O+)
Group 1A cations (Li+, Na+, K+, Rb+, Cs+, Fr+)

Negative ions (anions)

-1 Charge
acetate (C2H3O2-)
cyanide CNdihydrogen phosphate (H2PO4-)
hydrogen carbonate or bicarbonate (HCO3-)
hydrogen sulfate of bisulfate (HSO4-)
hydroxide (OH-)
nitrate (NO3-), nitrite (NO2-)
perchlorate (ClO4-),chlorate (ClO3-),chlorite (ClO2-),
hypochlorite (ClO-)
permangante (MnO4-)
thiocyanate (SCN-)
Group 7A anions (F-, Cl-, Br-, I-) ide ending

+2 Charge
-2 Charge
cadmium (Cd2+)
carbonate (CO32-)
chromium (II) or chromous (Cr2+)
chromate (CrO42-), dichromate(Cr2O72-)
cobalt(II) or cobaltous (Co2+)
hydrogen phosphate (HPO42-)
2+
copper(II) or cupric (Cu )
oxalate (C2O42-)
2+
iron(II) or ferrous (Fe )
oxide (O2-), peroxide (O22-)
2+
lead(II) or plumbous (Pb )
sulfate (SO42-), sulfite (SO32-)
2+
manganese(II) or manganous (Mn )
sulfide (S2-)
2+
mercury(I) or mercurous (Hg2 )
Group 6A anions (O2-, S2-, Se2-, Te2-) ide ending
mercury(II) or mercuric (Hg2+)
nickel (Ni2+)
tin(II) or stannous (Sn2+)
zinc (Zn2+)
Group 2A cations (Be2+, Mg2+, Ca2+, Sr2+, Ba2+, Ra2+)
+3 Charge
-3 Charge
aluminum (Al3+)
phosphate (PO43-); phosphite (PO33-)
chromium(III) or chromic (Cr3+)
Group 7A anions - nitride (N3-), phosphide (P3-)
3+
iron(III) or ferric (Fe )
Group 3A cations - aluminum (Al3+)
+4 Charge
lead(IV) or plumbic (Pb4+)
tin(IV) or stannic (Sn4+)
Summary of metal cations with more than one possible charge:
Cu+, Cu2+; Hg22+, Hg2+; Fe2+, Fe3+; Pb2+, Pb4+; Sn2+, Sn4+
There are other metals that form more than two stable ions. These include manganese, chromium, cobalt, vanadium, and others.
You should know these four require Roman numerals.

Covalent compounds follow a different naming system

Binary covalent compounds use prefixes to indicate number of each atom.
Mono is not used if there is only one of the first atom; -ide is used as a suffix on the root of the second atom.
Number

Prefix

Number

Prefix

mono

hexa

di

hepta

tri

octa

tetra

nona

penta

10

deca

Binary acid (HnX) solutions form when certain gaseous compounds dissolve in water.
Ex. HCl gas dissolves in water to form hydrochloric acid.
hydro- + anion nonmetal root + -ic acid
- hydrochloric acid
Ex. HF HBr HI H2S -

hydrofluoric acid
hydrobromic acid
hydroiodic acid
hydrosulfuric acid