Naming Acids Lecture Notes

Introduction to Acids

• Acids are a class of ionic compounds where the cation is always H⁺.
• Presence of hydrogen first in a chemical formula typically indicates an acid.
• Acids, when dissolved in water, produce H⁺ ions (protons).

Naming Acids without Oxygen in the Anion (Binary Acids)

• Do not include the cation (H⁺) in the name.
• Acid name derived from the root of the anion name.
• Use prefix hydro- and suffix -ic.
• Examples:
  • HCl: chloride becomes hydrochloric acid.
  • HCN: cyanide becomes hydrocyanic acid.

Naming Oxyacids (Anion Contains Oxygen)

• Do not include the cation (H⁺) in the name.
• Acid name derived from the root of the oxyanion or central element.
• Suffix changes based on oxyanion name:
  • -ate → -ic
  • -ite → -ous
• Examples:
  • HNO₃: nitrate becomes nitric acid.
  • HNO₂: nitrite becomes nitrous acid.

Anion and Acid Name Examples

• HF: F⁻ (fluoride) becomes hydrofluoric acid.
• HCl: Cl⁻ (chloride) becomes hydrochloric acid.
• HBr: Br⁻ (bromide) becomes hydrobromic acid.
• HI: I⁻ (iodide) becomes hydroiodic acid.
• H₂S: S²⁻ (sulfide) becomes hydrosulfic acid.
• HC₂H₃O₂: C₂H₃O₂⁻ (acetate) becomes acetic acid.
• H₂SO₄: SO₄²⁻ (sulfate) becomes sulfuric acid.
• H₂CO₃: CO₃²⁻ (carbonate) becomes carbonic acid.
• H₃PO₄: PO₄³⁻ (phosphate) becomes phosphoric acid.
• HClO: ClO⁻ (hypoclorite) becomes hypochlorous acid.
• HClO₂: ClO₂⁻ (chlorite) becomes chlorous acid.
• HClO₃: ClO₃⁻ (chlorate) becomes chloric acid.
• HClO₄: ClO₄⁻ (perchlorate) becomes perchloric acid.
• HIO₃: IO₃⁻ (iodate) becomes iodic acid.
• H₂SO₃: SO₃²⁻ (sulfite) becomes sulforous acid.
• HCN: CN⁻ (cyanide) becomes hydrocyanic acid.