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Before you can begin to name compounds you must first learn the names of the most common elements. The best way is to prepare a set of flash cards, and drill yourself until you know the symbols and names (including correct spelling) flawlessly. Element Hydrogen Bromine Potassium Magnesium Boron Iodine Nickel Phosphorus Oxygen Chromium Krypton Manganese Strontium Symbol H Br K Mg B I Ni P O Cr Kr Mn Sr Element Flourine Helium Silver Calcium Aluminum Carbon Lead Copper Sulfur Neon Xenon Silver Symbol F He Ag Ca Al C Pb Cu S Ne Xe Ag Element Chlorine Sodium Lithium Tin Iron Silicon Nitrogen Barium Zinc Argon Cobalt Gold Symbol Cl Na Li Sn Fe Si N Ba Zn Ar Co Au
At first thought, it may seem difficult to learn the formulas and names of the hundred or so compounds you will encounter in a first year chemistry course. Actually, it is not very difficult if you follow a few systematic rules, which you will need to memorize.
Only UPACs names and chemical symbols are allowed during the quiz and exam. No common names are acceptable. Example I Chemical Symbol H2O2 H2O K2CO3 Example II Correct Symbol Al Mg Na Cl NaCl Example III Name Sulfur Trioxide Correct Symbol SO3 Incorrect Symbol SO3-2 Incorrect Symbol Common Name Hydrogen Peroxide Water Potash UPAC's Name Dihydrogen Dioxide Dihydrogen Monoxide Potassium Carbonate
NaCl-
I. BINARY COMPOUNDS COMPOSED OF TWO NONMETALS Binary compounds are composed of atoms of two different elements. One type of binary compound is composed of two nonmetals and is named by using the elemental name for the first element followed by the name of the second element with its ending changed to "IDE". A prefix is added to each name to indicate the number of atoms of each element in the molecule. The mono prefix can be eliminated if it refers to the first element in the name. Number of Atoms 1 2 3 Prefix mono di tri Number of Atoms 5 6 7 Prefix Penta Hexa Hepta
tetra
Use the elemental name for the first element - sulfur (a prefix is not used since we drop a mono at the beginning of the name) and then use the root of the second element name "ox" followed by ide and preceded by di to indicate the presence of two oxygen atoms - dioxide. The correct name for SO2 is sulfur dioxide. The following examples will illustrate some common compounds of this type: NO2 nitrogen dioxide N2O4 dinitrogen tetroxide CO carbon monoxide
Notice in the name "tetroxide" the "a" from tetra is omitted, and in the name "monoxide" the "o" from mono is omitted. DRILL I (Note: Answers are given at the end of this handout) I. Name the following compounds. (correct spelling is required) 1. 2. SO2 CCl4 3. 4. P2O5 ClO 5. 6. ICl SF6
II. Write the correct chemical formulas. 1. 2. nitrogen trichloride dinitrogen pentoxide 3. 4. oxygen difluoride phosphorus pentachloride
DO NOT PROCEED TO NEXT SECTION UNTIL YOU HAVE THOROUGHLY MASTERED PREVIOUS SECTION II. BINARY COMPOUNDS OF A METAL AND A NONMETAL (Binary Salts) A second type of binary compound is composed of a metal and a nonmetal. It is named by first naming the metal ion and then the nonmetal ion. As illustrated below, the name of a metal ion is generally the same as the name of the element. Nonmetal ions are named by changing the ending of the element's name to "IDE". Certain metals tend to form two common ions of different charge. In this case, the charge is indicated using Roman Numerals as shown in Table I below. As an alternative, the ion with the higher charge is named using an "IC" ending and the ion with the lesser charge receives an "OUS". In this second system, the original Latin stem names are often used. DO NOT USE PREFIXES. TABLE I CATIONS
Fe2+ Fe3+ Cu Cu
1+ 2+
iron(II) or ferrous iron(III) or ferric copper(I) or cuprous copper(II) or cupric lead(II) or plumbous lead(IV) or plumbic tin(IV) or stannic tin(IV) or stannic
Mg2+ Ca2+
Al
3+
aluminum
mercury(I) or mercurou
Zn
Nonmetal ions are named using the stem of the element's name and changing the ending to "IDE". TABLE II ANIONS FClBrIHfluoride chloride bromide iodide hydride O2S2oxide sulfide N3P3nitride phosphide
A few of the polyatomic (more than one atom) ions have names that are similar to their monatomic counterparts. These are: CN-, NH4+ , OH-. TABLE II POLYATOMIC IONS NH4+ ammonium CNcyanide OH-
hydr
When polyatomic ion is used in writing the chemical formula of the compound more then once, place the polyatomic ion inside the parenthesis and then use the subscript that indicate the number of the polyatomic ions necessary to balance the charge of cation We combine the metal ion with the nonmetal ion in such a way that the sum of the positive and negative charge is zero, or such that the resulting compound is neutral. Example 1: Lets write the formula for potassium bromide by using the charges on its constituent elements. Place the element with the positive charge first followed by the element with the negative charge. The charge on the potassium ion is 1+ and the charge on the bromide ion is 1-. Since the sum of +1 and -1 is zero, the correct formula for electrically neutral compound sodium chloride is KBr. Example 2: Write the formula for magnesium fluoride. The charge on a magnesium ion is 2+. Therefore, two fluoride ions are required to make a neutral compound. Mg2+ + 2F- = MgF2 +2 + 2(-1) = 0 Example 3: Write the formula for aluminum oxide. The charge on the aluminum ion is 3+ and the charge on the oxide ion is 2-. Because +3 and -2 does not equal zero, AlO is not the correct formula. By inspection, it can be seen that 2 atoms of aluminum would give a total of 6 positive units and that three atoms of oxygen would give 6 negative units. 2Al3+ + 3O2- = Al2O3 2(3+) + 3(2-) = 0 Since the sum of +6 and -6 is zero, the correct simplest formula for aluminum oxide is therefore Al2O3. Some examples of naming binary salts are: NaCl KBr CaI2 LiF DRILL II I. Name the following compounds: (correct spelling is required) sodium chlorIDE potassium bromIDE calcium iodIDE lithium fluorIDE
1. MgO 2. K2S 3. FeCl3 4. AgI 5. Ca(OH)2 II. Write the correct chemical formulas 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. calcium nitride aluminum oxide sodium cyanide potassium hydroxide tin(IV) or stannic bromide
6. lithium phosphide 7. ammonium chloride 8. barium hydride 9. copper(II) sulfide 10. iron(II) or ferrous iodide
DO NOT PROCEED TO NEXT SECTION UNTIL YOU HAVE THOROUGHLY MASTERED PREVIOUS SECTION III. TERNARY SALTS Ternary compounds are composed of three or more elements. Ternary salts are generally composed of a metal cation and an anion that consists of a group of nonmetals rather than just one. These negative ions are often called polyatomic ions. Examples of polyatomic ions are given in Tables IV and V shown below. In general, when the central atom of a polyatomic ion is bound to a higher number of oxygens, the ion name will end with "ATE". If the central atom is bound to fewer oxygens, the ending will be "ITE". To name ternary salts, name the metal cation first, and then the anion. DO NOT USE PREFIXES. When polyatomic ion is used in writing the chemical formula of the compound more then once, place the polyatomic ion inside the parenthesis and then use the subscript that indicate the number of the polyatomic ions necessary to balance the charge of cation TABLE IV Some Polyatomic Ions
C2H3O2NO3NO2-
CO32SO42SO32S2O32TABLE V
PO
Mn
CrO
Cr2
ClOClO2ClO3ClO4-
BrOBrO2BrO3BrO4-
IOIO2IO3IO4-
The charge on the ion gives the combining power of the ion taken as a unit. 2(+1) - 2 = 0 Na2CO3 Na2CO3 sodium carbonATE
DRILL III 1. Name the following compounds (watch your endings) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Ca3(PO4)2 KNO3 BaCO3 LiBrO2 MgSO3 Mg(IO4)2 NaIO3 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. Cu(C2H3O2)2 KCN Na3PO4 K2SO4 Fe(BrO)3 AgClO3 SnSO4 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.
II. Write the correct formulas for the following compounds: 1. 2. 3. 4. lithium hypobromite tin(II) nitrate sodium carbonate ammonium sulfate 5. 6. 7. 8. aluminum phosphate iron(III) sulfite copper(II) phosphate potassium iodite 9. 10.
magn
lithium
DO NOT PROCEED TO NEXT SECTION UNTIL YOU HAVE THOROUGHLY MASTERED PREVIOUS SECTION IV. BINARY ACIDS - The water solutions of compounds composed of hydrogen and a nonmetal RULE: Acids composed of hydrogen and a nonmetal are named by putting the prefix HYDRO before the root of the name of the nonmetal and adding the suffix IC followed by the word ACID. For example: When hydrogen chloride (HCl) is dissolved in water, we get hydrochloric acid. HF(aq) HYDROfluorIC acid
NOTE: The formulas of binary acids must be followed by (aq). The (aq) means aqueous or dissolved in water. Without the (aq) it would represent a gas. For instance, HCl is hydrogen chloride gas. V. ACIDS CONTAINING OXYGEN - Compounds of hydrogen and a polyatomic ion (with oxygen present) RULES: 1. If there is only one oxygen acid, the name is that of the characteristic element followed by the suffix IC. 2. If there are two oxygen acids, the name of the one with the larger number of oxygen atoms ends in IC, and the name of the one with the smaller number of oxygen atoms ends in OUS. 3. If there are four oxygen acids, like the oxyacids of the halogen family, the acid with the greatest number of oxygens is designated by the prefix PER- and suffix -IC, the one with the next fewer oxygens has the suffix -IC, the one with the next fewer has the suffix OUS, and the fewest oxygens acid is designated with the prefix HYPOand the suffix -OUS. For example: HNO3 is nitrIC acid HNO2 is nitrOUS acid H2SO4 is sulfurIC acid H2SO3 is sulfurOUS acid HC2H3O2 is acetIC acid HBrO is HYPObromOUS acid HBrO2 is bromOUS acid HBrO3 is bromIC acid HBrO4 is PERbromIC acid H3PO4 is phosphorIC acid
NOTE: Ternary acid formulas are not usually followed by (aq). It is assumed that they are dissolved in water.
DRILL IV I. Name each of the following: 1. 2. 3. 4. H2S (aq) HC2H3O2 HBrO HF(aq) 5. 6. 7. 8. H3PO4 HI(aq) HIO3 HBrO2
II. Give the chemical formula of each of the following: 1. nitrous acid 2. hydrobromic acid 3. perbromic acid 4. iodous acid 5. chloric acid DO NOT PROCEED TO THE NEXT SECTION UNTIL YOU HAVE THOROUGHLY MASTERED THIS SECTION. VI. ACID SALTS When a metal replaces one or more hydrogen atoms of an acid, acid salt is formed. To name such salt, we have to identify the number of remaining number of hydrogen atoms in the salt using appropriate prefix ( see page 1). For example: H3PO4 is phosphoric acid NaH2PO4 is sodium Dihydrogen phosphate Na2HPO4 is sodium MONOhydrogen phosphate Na3PO4 is sodium phosphate If the acid contains only two hydrogen atoms, then only two acid salts are possible. These salts could be named by the method described above, but a most common method used by chemists, is to add prefix bi to the name of the anion. For example:
H2CO3 is carbonic acid NaHCO3 is sodium MONOhydrogen carbonATE or sodium BIcarbonATE Na2CO3 is sodium carbonATE VII. DIATOMIC MOLECULES Seven elements exist naturally as diatomic molecules. They are named by identifying the element preceded by the word "molecular". Examples: O2 - molecular oxygen I2 - molecular iodine H2 - molecular hydrogen F2 - molecular fluorine Br2 - molecular bromine
Some ionic salts are hydrated, chemically bound with water molecules. These water molecules are called waters of crystallization. In naming a specific hydrated salt, first name the ionic salt according to all rules learned in the above sections, then use the appropriate prefix to indicate the number of water molecules, and finally add the term hydrate. For example, MgSO4 . 7H2O has seven waters of crystallization per one mole of magnesium sulfate. The correct name of this compound is magnesium sulfate heptahydrate. VIII. PRACTICE QUIZ 1. Give the correct name of each of the following. a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. KCl Na2CO3 CCl4 PBr3 NaNO2 ZnSO3 KIO4 NiS Li3N Cu(OH)2
2. Give the chemical formula of each of the following: a. sodium oxide b. iron(II) phosphate c. dinitrogen monoxide
d. e. f. g. h. i. j.
potassium acetate barium hypochorite calcium phosphide molecular oxygen silver nitrate ammonium sulfate magnesium cyanide
ANSWERS
The Language of Chemistry Equations using symbols and formulae We can use the chemical symbols and formulae to construct chemical equations for the reactions we have met in the tutorials. Example I :
H2S
O2
H2O
The equation is not balanced. Have you noticed that there are two oxygen atoms on the reactants' side of the equation and only one on the products' side? Look at the image equation. You will see that we need two hydrogen sulphide molecules, two sulphur atoms and two water molecules. So we need to balance the equation. This is achieved by placing a whole number in front of the symbol or formula. Never try to balance the equation by changing a formula in some way.
Balanced equation
2H2S
O2
2S
2H2O
Congratulations! You have written your first chemical equation using symbols and formulae. Before you work through some more examples just check again that you have the same number of each type of atom on both sides of the equation.
Remember: "Matter can neither be created nor destroyed by chemical means" Example II :
Before you work through some more examples just check again that you have the same number of each type of atom on both sides of the equation. Example III :
Before you work through some more examples just check again that you have the same number of each type of atom on both sides of the equation. Everything in brackets () is multiplied by the number outside the brackets. In this case the number of oxygen atoms in calcium nitrate is 3x2 = 6. The number of nitrogen atoms is 1x2 = 2. Example IV :
Before you work through some more examples just check again that you have the same number of each type of atom on both sides of the equation. Everything in brackets () is multiplied by the number outside the brackets. xample V :
Before you work through some more examples just check again that you have the same number of each type of atom on both sides of the equation.
Equation 1:
.Fe .Fe
H2SO4. H2SO4.
FeSO4 .FeSO4
.H2 .H2
Equation 2:
Al 2Al
HCl 6HCl
.AlCl3 2AlCl3
..H2 3.H2
Equation 3:
.CaO CaO
HNO3 2HNO3
.Ca(NO3)2 Ca(NO3)2
.H2O H2O.
Equation 4:
Unbalanced equation
Al2O3
H2SO4
.Al2(SO4)3
H2O
Balanced equation
Al2O3
3H2SO4
Al2(SO4)3
3H2O
Parlez vous la chimie? Do you speak chemistry? Instead of teaching a set of nomenclature rules, which is the normal approach, I'd like to approach your learning of chemistry nomenclature in a way similar to learning a foreign language. The picture here is of the Louvre Museum in Paris. If you were to move to Paris, you would begin learning the language little by little by listening. In other words you could begin to learn a few words that gives you some idea of what is
being said. For example, if you hear "we", you learn that is the French word "Oui" meaning yes. Even if you didn't understand anything else, you would at least know that someone was agreeing with someone else.
In chemistry you don't even need a whole word, but just a syllable to gain some valuable information. For example, you were walking by these two guys and you heard part of the conversation:
"When you mix ___ium ___ide with the ___ide ion the solution turns yellow."
The ending of "ium" tells you that they are probably talking about a metal (like sodium, calcium, potassium, etc.). There are only three exceptions: "helium" and the heavy isotopes of hydrogen:
deuterium & tritium. The syllable of "ide" tells us that this is a compound made up of only twoelements. For example, "carbon dioxide." Notice that is made up of just two elements, carbon and oxygen. The exception is if you hear "___ide ion" That means it's a negative ion of some element. For example, chlorine tha t has gained an electron to become an ion is called a chloride ion and not a chlorine ion. Positive ions don't use the
"ide" ending. Even if you don't know the names of the compounds on the left, you now know they all end in "ide" NaCl, CaO, CaCl2, because each are a N2O, CO2, KBr, combination of two P5O10 elements. There can Sodium chloride, be more than two atoms, but only two calcium oxide, calcium chloride, elements. The only dinitrogen oxide, two exceptions I can think of is carbon dioxide, potassium bromide, "hydroxide" and "cyanide" compounds, and pentaphosphorus such as sodium hydroxide (N decaoxide. aOH) and sodium cyanide (NaCN) . Notice that these have 3 elements. Again, "ide" usually means
there's just two elements combined. I'll show you how valuable this little syllable is. Let's say you and a friend overhear a conversation. Later the FBI interview both of you saying the people you heard were suspected terrorists. The FBI believe they are shipping a dangerous chemical. You did hear some chemical names being mentioned. Your friend says he heard "sodium" followed by a word that sounded like "chlorine". You
also heard "sodium" but don't remember "chlorine" being said, but you are absolutely sure you heard "ide" at the end of the second word's name. If the word "sodium" is heard by itself, then they are most likely talking about sodium metal. This is very dangerous. In contact with water, it will explode.
The word "chlorine" by itself is refering to toxic chlorine gas. In World War I, chlorine gas was released to kill enemy soldiers. So the words, "sodium, chlorine" could easily mean that the terrorists have both sodium metal and chlorine gas. These are potent and deadly chemicals.
However, since you heard "ide", this changes the whole meaning. Instead of "sodium, chlorine," the words must have been "sodium chloride," which is table salt. Remember the "ide" means this is a compound made from two elements, in this case sodium and chlorine. Individually sodium and chlorine are very reactive and dangerous; however, once they combine, they are safe and good on french fries. So cancel the terrorist alert.
If you have high blood pressure, the doctor is apt to tell you to reduce your intake of sodium chloride (table salt) and instead use potassium chloride. One of these bottles contain just what you need to prevent a heart attack; unfortunately, instead of the compound being written out as "potassium chloride," it is written as a formula. Both of these elements have potassium and chlorine atoms. Again, "ide" is the
clue that the correct bottle is the left one because it has just two elements. The right bottle has 3 elements. It's name is potassium chlorate. If you were to cook with this kind of salt, your food would likely explode. So you see, there's a big difference between ending with "ide" or with "ate".
Learning a language means paying attention to patterns. Let's say below is what you see written: NaCl, KBr, CaF2 You recognize the elements as sodium, chlorine, potassium, bromine, calcium, and fluorine. Now you hear someone read the compounds outloud as, "sodium chloride, potassium bromide, calcium fluoride." You see a pattern. The first element is read as is, the second element's name is shortened and the
suffix "ide" is added. Here's a list of the element names: lithium, chlorine, magnesium, oxygen, sodium, fluorine, calcium, and chlorine. Try naming the compounds to the left. To see the answer, roll cursor over the image. When learning a language, you often encounter things that seem inconsistent. Notice the discrepancy between how these compounds indicate the number of atoms. Some compounds do and
some don't. Can you see a pattern here? (roll cursor over image for answer) All elements above the yellow stair-step line are non-metals. Whenever any two combine, we need to indicate how many of each are present. The reason for this is that there's often several possibilities. For example, nitrogen and oxygen combine with each other in various numbers, so we can't just say "nitrogen oxide" because that wouldn't identify the various compounds.
Notice that these four compounds of nitrogen are called: nitrogen oxide, dinitrogen oxide, nitrogen dioxide, and dinitrogen trioxide. At this point, you would conclude that "di" means two and "tri" meansthree. When you learn a language, one of the first things you learn is how to count. In chemistry, we use Greek to count. 1= mono (mono isn't used much. 1 is understood) 2 = di 3 = tri
4 = tetra 5 = penta 6 = hexa 7 = hepta 8 = octa 9 = nona 10 = deca These seven nonmetals usually form toxic compounds. So if you ever hear these spoken or see them written, take notice. Most end with the syllable "ide" and they use the Greek prefix to indicate the number of atoms. For example, the last one says, "phosphorustrichlorid e". Ammonia could be
Cl2O7 dichlorine heptaoxide (heptoxide) N2O4 dinitrogen tetraoxide (tetroxide) PI3 phosphorus triiodide
called "nitrogen trihydride" but the ammonia is so well known, that no one says the full name. We now have some nomenclature rules about naming compounds that are made of two different non-metals. 1. The first element is written as. If more than one atom of that element, use the Greek prefix for that number. 2. The name of second element is shortened and the suffix "ide" is added. If more than
one atom of the second element, then use the Greek prefix for that number. Here I'm talking chemistry to a couple of textbooks authors. If I hear Greek_something_Gr eek_something_ide, I know they are talking about a non-metal compound of two elements even if I didn't catch the element names.
When reading chemistry, you see and hear Greek words for counting the elements in non-metal compounds, but when discussing compounds made from a metal and a nonmetal, you see Roman Nume rals but hearArabic nume rals. It almost makes you want to use your sword on someone.
Written: iron(II) chloride Spoken: iron two chloride Written: cobalt(III) oxide Spoken: cobalt three oxide
Notice that the Roman numeral (III) is spoken as if it were the Arabic numeral "3". We say "three"
not "I, I, I", which would make people think you stutter. CrO2 Another puzzler: You Spoken: "chromium four see the formula CrO2, oxide" Written out: Chromium (IV) but are puzzled oxide because someone calls it "chromium four oxide". To you it looks like there's two oxygens not four. The reason for this is that the "four" is referring to the charge on the chromium not the number of oxygen atoms. Here's a diagram of what chromium and oxygen atoms look like individually. They start off neutral
because the electrons (e-) they have match the number of protons (p+) they have. Since each oxygen has a stronger pull on electrons than does chromium, each will pull off two electrons from the chromium. Chromium has four outer electrons and these get grabbed by the two oxygen atoms. Now chromium has 4 more protons than it does electrons, so it is now 4+ charge. The oxygens have gained 2 electrons each, so they are now 2charge. Because these elements now have
opposite charges, they stick together to make chromium (IV) oxide. Copper(II) chloride Two more puzzlers: > CuCl2 1) Sometimes you hear Roman numerals Calcium chloride > used and sometimes CaCl2 not. Sodium chloride > 2) Why did they write NaCl two chlorines for calcium chloride (CaCl2), but only one chlorine for sodium chloride (NaCl)?
No need to say more than what's needed: You wouldn't try to use hand signals to tell your friends here that there's aSharkwith-a-lot-of-sharpteeth right behind them. Giving them the signal for "shark" is all you need. Chemists are like scuba divers. There's no need to say more than what's necessary. When a group shares a certain amount of knowledge, communication can be shortened because of this shared
knowledge. Chloride ion = Cl- Chemistry nomenclature can be Sodium ion = Na+ puzzling if we don't and attracts one Clhave the knowledge Calcium ion = that chemists share. Ca2+ and attracts What they know is the two Clcharge on elements. NaCl (no need to Chlorine is a negative say one chlorine one charge, so it's because sodium can attracted to the only attract one) positive metal ions CaCl2 (no need to like sodium and say two chlorines, calcium. When a in other words, you sodium atom becomes a charged ion, it would not say calcium dichloride always becomes 1+ charge. Calcium because it's unnecesary when always becomes a 2+ (two plus) charge. you know that calcium has 2+ charge. That 2+
charge would always attract two chloride ions which have a negative one charge each). Unlike copper and sodium, a copper ion can be either 1+ Copper ion = charge or a 2+ charge. + 2+ Cu or Cu So simply saying copper (I) chloride copper chloride means Cu+ so doesn't tell you how attracts one Clmany chloride ions (CuCl) are attached to the copper. However, if copper (II) chloride you indicate the + means Cu so charge on the copper, attracts two Clthen others can figure (CuCl2) out how many chlorine atoms are connected.
This is the Periodic Table where the middle is left out so we can focus on both ends. Notice that elements in the first column will achieve a +1 charge (also written 1+) if they lose their outer single electron. Sodium (Na) mentioned above is in this column. The second column are metals that acquire a plus two charge when they lose their two outer electrons. Calcium mentioned above is in this column. Non-metals are on the right side and they become
negatively charged as they take electrons away from the metals. Notice chlorine has a negative one charge. MgCl2 It's the knowledge of the charges that Do not say speeds up magnesium dichl communication. For oride example, a person Saying magnesiu does not need to say m chloride is "magnesium dichlorid enough e" because magnesium is in the plus 2 charge column, and since chlorine is a negative 1 charge, there will always be two chloride ions attached to a magnesium ion.
Here's the motto: "Don't tell me something I already know." It's like saying "yellow bananas", "wet water", or "4 legged horse." Don't use these extra words that are already common knowledge. On the other hand, don't leave out words that are needed. The main ingredient of glass is silicon dioxide (SiO2). Sometimes aluminum oxide (Al2O3) is added to make the glass more resistant to
chemicals. Why didn't we say dialuminum trioxide for (Al2O3)? One reason is that we have a metal combined with a non-metal, so we don't use Greek prefixes to count the atoms. How do we know aluminum oxide has two aluminum atoms and three oxygen atoms?
We refer to this Periodic Table that lists the charges that these elements can have. Aluminum is in the +3 column meaning it loses 3 electrons to become +3 charge. Oxygen is in the -2 column and can have a -2 charge. Having opposite charges, the two are attracted to each other. However, after they are together, they still have an overall +1 charge. (Al3+O2-)+ That means as a pair, they will attract another negative
oxygen atom. (Al3+O2-)+ O2This resulting threesome now has a negative one charge (3+ & 4-=1-), so they will now attract a positive aluminum ion. (O2-Al3+O2-)- Al3+ This results in a group that has a plus 2 charge (Al3+O2-Al3+O2-)2+ Being positive they now attract a O2-. (Al3+O2-Al3+O2-)2+ O2Now all together there is no charge, so the compound attracts nothing else and we end with the final
compound & formula. (O2-Al3+O2-Al3+O2-) which is Al2O3. Also, aluminum never has other charges, so we can depend on it having a +3 charge, so we don't write: aluminum(III) oxide, we only write aluminum oxide. A compound that comes together just like aluminum oxide is iron(III) oxide (rust). Notice for the iron compound, I wrote "(III)". That's because iron can have either a plus 2 charge or a plus 3 charge. So I had to
specify which one. It's formula is like aluminum oxide (Al2O3); it's Fe2O3. Two iron atoms with plus 3 charge each balances with three oxygen atoms with negative 2 charge each just like the aluminum and oxygen atoms did. Learning the language of chemistry takes time. Like any language, the more you are learn the faster it is to learn more. Also, understanding the logic behind the naming rules helps.
Even though there is quite a bit of memorization in nomenclature, remember, it's not just names that are important, it's the chemical behind the name. The payoff with learning how to speak chemistry is that it lets you communicate with so many others around the world that also have learned the language of chemistry.