Homework Help: Honors Chemistry

Posted by Emily on Monday, October 19, 2009 at 11:40pm.

Can someone please explain to me how to use the stock naming system when naming chemical/ionic compounds? I reeeeaaaally do not get it. Here's some examples:

1. CaCO3
==> I know the answer is calcium carbonate, but how is it that answer?

2. FeSO4
==> The answer is ferrous sulfate, I believe, but I don't understand this either.

I've also been having trouble with the suffixes and prefixes -- my teacher does NOT explain things very well, in lectures and in notes. How do you know when to use which prefix? He said something about "if there is one less oxygen than '-ate', then it gets the ending '-ite'", and stuff like that. Can someone please explain this stuff to me? I'm sorry it's a lot, I just really want to understand this.

Honors Chemistry - bobpursley, Tuesday, October 20, 2009 at 6:31am
There is seldom any great logic in naming things, take Honors Chemistry for instance. Someone put out some general rules of naming, and they stuck.
what you stated "he said something.." yep, that is the rule.
What I recommend is you make some flash cards, compound on one side, name on the other
one side other side
CO3 -2 carbon ate
CO2 -2 carbon ite
SO4 -2 sulf ate
SO3 -2 sulf ite
SO2 -2 hypo sulfite

and so on.
On the multivalent ions, such as ferric and ferrous, do the same thing. It is faster and more permanent in your mind just to memorize them, memorizing 60 or so will do you well.

http://www2.pvc.maricopa.edu/tutor/chem/chem130/nomenclature/polyatomicion.html
Honors Chemistry - Emily, Tuesday, October 20, 2009 at 7:55pm
Thank you soooooo much for all your help!!!! The worksheet you hyperlinked to was EXACTLY what I needed. Thanks again! :D :D

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