Writing Formulas and

Naming Compounds
Oxidation Numbers
• Tells us how many electrons an atom has gained,
lost, or shared to become stable
• Determined by the charge of the ion
• Transition elements have more than one oxidation
number
• Expressed in Roman numerals
• Copper (II) = Cu+2
Neutral Compound
• Compounds want to be neutral.
• The total positive charges must equal the total
negative charges.
• The charges cancel out.
Binary Ionic Compound
• Compound made of 2 elements
• A metal and a nonmetal
Writing Binary Ionic Compounds
1. Write the symbol of the element that has a
positive charge or oxidation number. (Hint: The
element is a metal.)
2. Write the symbol of the element with the
negative charge of oxidation number. (Hint: The
element is a nonmetal.)
3. The charge (without the sign) of one ion
becomes the subscript of the other ion.
4. Reduce subscripts to the smallest whole
numbers that keep the ratio of ions.
Binary Ionic Compounds
• Contain atoms of two elements
• Write the chemical formula by using the criss cross
method

CaI2
Subscripts must be reduced since an empirical
formula shows the lowest whole number ratio
of ions or atoms

Ca2O2 must be reduced to CaO

Writing Binary Compound Names

1. Write the name of the positive ion. (Hint: This is

a metal.)
2. If the ion has multiple charges/oxidation
numbers, determine which oxidation number is
being used.
1. Keep in mind the overall charge is zero and the
negative ion has only one charge.
2. Write the charge of the positive ion using roman
numerals in parentheses after the ion’s name.
3. If the positive ion only has one possible oxidation
number, go to step 3.
Writing Binary Compound Names

3. Write the root name of the negative ion. The

root is the first part of the element’s name.
4. Add the ending –ide to the root.
Element Name -ide Ending

Oxygen Oxide

Phosphorous Phosphide

Nitrogen Nitride

Sulfur Sulfide
Polyatomic Ions
• A positively or negatively charged covalently
bonded group of atoms
• Contains 2 or more elements
• Writing Names
1. Write the name of the positive ion.
2. Write the name of the negative ion. Do not change
the name of the polyatomic ion.
• Writing Formulas
1. Follow the rules for binary compounds, except that
parentheses are around the polyatomic ion before
adding the subscript.
 Ternary Ionic Compounds
• Contain atoms of three
elements
• Parentheses must be
placed around polyatomic
ions to separate the ion
from the subscript when
more than one ion is
needed

Ca(OH)2
Common Polyatomic Ions

Ammonium NH4+
Acetate C2H3O2-
Chlorate ClO3-
Nitrate NO3-
Hydroxide OH-
Carbonate CO3-2
Sulfate SO4-2
Phosphate PO4-3
Practice Writing and Naming
1. NH4+ and Cl - NH4 Cl
2. Li + and SO42- Li2 SO4
3. Ca 2+ and NO3 - Ca(NO3 )2
4. K + and SO42- K2 SO4
5. Al 3+ and PO43- AlPO4

6. NH4+ and OH- NH4 OH

Writing and Naming Binary Covalent
Compounds
• Use Greek prefixes that show us how many atoms
of each element are in the compound
• Last vowel of the prefix is dropped when the
second element begins with a vowel
• Mono is often omitted
Number Prefix Number Prefix

1 Mono- 6 Hexa-

2 Di- 7 Hepta-

3 Tri- 8 Octa-

4 Tetra- 9 Nona-

5 Penta- 10 Deca-
 Naming Hydrates
• The ONLY time that you use the numerical
prefixes with ionic compounds is to
indicate the number of water molecules
attached to a hydrated ionic compound
CuSO4 . 5H2O
copper (II) sulfate pentahydrate
Oxides 2-
(O )
• Metals and nonmetal combine with
oxygen to form oxides
• Examples:
CaO is calcium oxide
PtO2 is platinum (IV) oxide
 Peroxides 2-
(O2 )
• Active metals (group 1 except Li, group 2
except Be & Mg) may combine with
oxygen to form peroxides
• Each oxygen is 1-
• Example: CaO2 is calcium peroxide
• H2O2 is hydrogen peroxide; H can act as
an active metal
Superoxides -
(O2 )
• Very active metals (K, Rb, Cs) may
combine with oxygen to form
superoxides
• Each oxygen is -1/2
• Example: RbO2 is rubidium
superoxide
Name these Oxides
• KO2 • potassium superoxide

• K2O2 • potassium peroxide

• K2O • potassium oxide

Names and Formulas of Acids
• The names of acids are related to the names of
anions:
• -ide becomes hydro- ...-ic acid;
HCl hydrochloric acid
• -ate becomes –ic acid;
HClO4 perchloric acid
• -ite becomes –ous acid.
HClO hypochlorous acid
CHEMICAL EQUATIONS
 Chemical Reactions
• A chemical reaction occurs when chemical bonds are broken and
formed and atoms are exchanged to produce chemically different
species.

CH4 + 2O2  2H2O + CO2

Reactants Yields Products

Above is a chemical equation for the reaction of methane with oxygen. It is

balanced because it has the same number of each kind of atom (1 C, 4H,
4O) among both the reactants and products.
 Chemical Reactions

Chemical change = Chemical reaction

Substance(s) is used up (disappear)

New substance(s) is formed.

Different physical and chemical properties.

 Evidence for chemical reactions

1. Color changes

2. A solid is formed (precipitation)

3. Bubbles form (gas)

4. Heat (and/or flame) is produced, or heat is absorbed

Chemical Reactions

A+BC+D

Reactants Products

Chemical Equation
Products contain the same atoms as reactants.

Rearrangement of atoms
 Physical States (forms)

Solid (s)
Liquid (l)
Gas (g)
Aqueous (aq)

Ca(OH)2(s) + 2HCl(g)  CaCl2(s) + H2O(l)

Chemical equation gives us some information:

1. Identities of the reactants and products.

2. Relative amounts of the reactants and products.

3. Physical states of the reactants and products.

4. Stoichiometry
 Type of chemical reactions

1. A + B  AB Synthesis reaction (combination)

2H2 + O2  2H2O

2. AB  A + B Decomposition (analysis)

2NaCl  2Na + Cl2

3. A + BC  AC + B Single replacement reaction

Fe + CuSO4  FeSO4 + Cu

4. AB + CD  AD + CB Double replacement reaction

NaCl + AgNO3  NaNO3 + AgCl

 Type of chemical reactions

5. AB + xO2  yCO2 + zH2O + Heat (Energy) Combustion

C3H8 + 5O2  3CO2 + 4H2O + Heat
• Chemical equation - Describes a chemical change.
• Parts of an equation:

Reactant Product

2Ag + H2S Ag2S + H2

Reaction
symbol
• Reactant - The chemical(s) you start with before the
reaction.
• Written on left side of equation.
• Product - The new chemical(s) formed by the
reaction.
• Right side of equation.
• Subscript - shows how many atoms of an element are
in a molecule.
• EX: H2O
• 2 atoms of hydrogen (H)
• 1 atom of oxygen (O)
• Coefficient - shows how many molecules there are of
a particular chemical.
• EX: 3 H2O
• Means there are 3 water molecules.
• In a chem. rxn, matter is neither created nor
destroyed.
• In other words, the number and type of atoms going INTO
a rxn must be the same as the number and type of atoms
coming OUT.
• If an equation obeys the Law of Conservation, it is
balanced.
 • CH4 + O2  CO2 + H2O

Reactant Side Product Side

1 carbon
atom
1 carbon 2 hydrogen
atom atoms
4 hydrogen 3 oxygen
atoms atoms
2 oxygen
atoms
 A Balanced Equation
 CH4 + 2O2  CO2 + 2H2O

Reactant Side Product Side

1 carbon 1 carbon
atom atom
4 hydrogen 4 hydrogen
atoms atoms
4 oxygen 4 oxygen
atoms atoms
1. Matter cannot be created or destroyed.
2. Subscripts cannot be added, removed, or changed.
3. You can only change coefficients.
4. Coefficients can only go in front of chem. formulas...NEVER in
the middle of a formula.
A few extra tips:
Try balancing big formulas first; save free elements for last.
If the same polyatomic ion appears on both sides of the equation,
it’s usually okay to treat it as one unit.
There is no one particular way to balance equations. Some
equations are harder to balance than others and might require
some creativity to solve.
 Balance the following equation by adjusting coefficients.

N2 + 3 H2  2NH3

reactants products

N 2 21
H 6
2 63
• Balance the following equation by adjusting
coefficients.

2 KClO3  2 KCl + 3 O2
reactants products

K 1
2 12
Cl 1
2 1
2
O 3
6 2
6
• Balance the following equation:
• 2 C2H6 +7 O2  4CO2 +6H2O

• Balance the following equation:

– 4 Fe +3 O2  2 Fe2O3
 C3H8(g) + 5O2(g)  3CO2(g) + 4H2O(g)

2 2C3H8(g) + 10O2(g)  6CO2(g) + 8H2O(g)

3 3C3H8(g) + 15O2(g)  9CO2(g) + 12H2O(g)

Lowest set of numbers

 Examples for Balancing

__ C2H5OH(l) + __ O2(g)  __ CO2(g) + __ H2O(g)

__ PbCl2(aq) + __ K2SO4(aq)  __ PbSO4(s) + __ KCl(aq)

__ CaC2(s) + __ H2O(l)  __ Ca(OH)2(s) + __ C2H2(g)

 Examples for Balancing

__ Fe(s) + ____ O2(g)  __ Fe2O3(s)

__ Fe(s) + ____ O2(g)  __ Fe2O3(s)

Notes: Always use the lowest possible integer numbers.

If you get a fraction, multiply it out.

 Examples for Balancing

__ B4H10(g) + ____ O2(g)  __ B2O3(g) + __ H2O(g)

 Examples for Balancing

• “Solid potassium reacts with water to form hydrogen gas

and potassium hydroxide dissolved in solution.”

• Write and balance the chemical equation for this reaction.

1K(s) + 2 H2O(l) → 1KOH(aq) +1H2(g)

2 2
Try to balance these equations using the same
method:

[1] Na + Cl2  NaCl

[2] CH4 + O2  CO2 + H2O

[3] Li + HNO3  LiNO3 + H2

[4] Al + O2  Al2O3
Questions
Balance the following equations:

(a) P2O5(s) + H2O(l)  H3PO4(aq)

(b) NO2(g) + H2(g)  NH3(g) + H2O(g)

(c) SO2(g) + O2(g)  SO3(g)

Questions
Balance the following equations:

(a) P2O5(s) + H2O(l)  H3PO4(aq)

Answer: P2O5(s) + 3H2O(l)  2H3PO4(aq)

(b) NO2(g) + H2(g)  NH3(g) + H2O(g)

Answer: 2NO2(g) + 7H2(g)  2NH3(g) + 4H2O(g)

(c) SO2(g) + O2(g)  SO3(g)

Answer: 2SO2(g) + O2(g)  2SO3(g)