Lecture Notes: Naming Covalent Compounds
Key Concepts
- Covalent Compounds: Involve sharing of electrons between nonmetals.
- Unlike ionic bonds, there are no charges, hence different naming conventions.
- Lewis Dot Structures: Visual representations showing how atoms share electrons.
Naming Covalent Compounds
-
Occurs only between nonmetals
- No crisscross method as in ionic compounds.
- Naming isn't based on charge, but on prefixes.
-
Steps for Naming:
- First Element: Name it as is (nonmetal), no prefix if only one.
- Second Element: Change the end to
-ide like ionic bonds.
- Prefixes: Indicate the number of atoms of each element.
- First Element: Prefix if more than one.
- Second Element: Always a prefix.
-
Prefixes (up to 10 atoms):
- Mono- (1) - Not used for first element
- Di- (2)
- Tri- (3)
- Tetra- (4)
- Penta- (5)
- Hexa- (6)
- Hepta- (7)
- Octa- (8)
- Nona- (9)
- Deca- (10)
Examples
-
Example 1: CBr₄
- First element: Carbon
- Second element: Bromine → Bromide
- Prefixed result: Carbon Tetrabromide
-
Example 2: P₄Cl₁₀
- First element: Phosphorus
- Second element: Chlorine → Chloride
- Prefixed result: Tetraphosphorus Decachloride
-
Example 3: N₂O₅
- First element: Nitrogen
- Second element: Oxygen → Oxide
- Prefixed result: Dinitrogen Pentoxide
- Note: Dropping 'A' from 'Pentaoxide' to make it flow better
Additional Notes
- Number of Bonds: Determined by Lewis structures.
- Example: CBr₄ structure uses valence electrons to explain bonding.
- A/O Dropping: Not a strict rule; optional based on flow.
- Review and practice naming with these rules for ease.
These notes cover the basic rules and examples for naming covalent compounds efficiently, focusing on the combination of nonmetals and the use of prefixes to indicate the number of atoms in compounds.