3.3: Nomenclature – Naming Compounds

Nomenclature is the process of naming chemical compounds so that they can be easily identified as separate and unique chemicals. The primary function of chemical nomenclature is to ensure that a spoken or written chemical name leaves no ambiguity concerning which chemical compound the name refers to—each chemical name should refer to a single substance. A less important aim is to ensure that each substance has a single name, although a limited number of alternative names is acceptable in some cases. Sometimes a name also conveys some information about the structure or chemistry of a compound.

In the sections that follow, we will learn how to write formulas for and name the following types of compounds:

• Ionic compounds, including binary (composed of two elements) and ternary (composed of more than two elements and incorporating polyatomic ions)
• Covalent (molecular) compounds
• Hydrates of ionic compounds
• Acids (both binary and ternary/oxoacids)

Contributions & Attributions

This page was constructed from content via the following contributor(s) and edited (topically or extensively) by the LibreTexts development team to meet platform style, presentation, and quality:

• Wikipedia (CC-BY-SA-3.0)
• Marisa Alviar-Agnew (Sacramento City College)
• Henry Agnew (UC Davis)