Chemical names and formulae

Compounds are broadly classified as alloys, inorganic compounds or organic compounds. Alloys are metallic materials composed of varying proportions of metallic elements. Organic compounds are compounds of carbon, and make up the living world. Inorganic solids comprise everything else, such as rocks and minerals. 

Molecules are groups of atoms that are linked together by chemical bonds to form recognisable units in stable structures. The formulae of molecules are written as a set of atomic symbols, with the number of atoms given a subscript to the atomic symbol. Examples are water, H2O methane, CH4 ammonia, NH3. The molecules that are important for life, such as proteins and DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) are extremely large. Polymers are very large molecules formed from smaller molecules, called monomers. 

Although the bonds between the atoms within molecules are strong, those between molecules are usually much weaker and are of the types described above. Small molecules tend to exist as gases at room temperature, whereas larger molecules exist as liquids or form solids. The formula of a molecular solid is the same as the formula of the molecules that make up the solid. 

Not all solids and liquids are molecular. Many inorganic solids and liquids are built of ions or uncharged atoms. For such solids, the formula often simply expresses the ratio of the atomic species present. For example crystalline rock salt, NaCl, also called halite or sodium chloride, contains equal numbers of sodium and chlorine atoms, although the total number of each will depend on the size of the sample. Similarly, fool s gold, FeS, also called iron pyrites or iron sulphide, always contains twice as many sulphur atoms as iron atoms, although no molecules of FeS2 exist in the crystals. 

Organic compounds have an elaborate naming system, necessary because of the enormous complexity exhibited by these molecules. The mdiments are explained in Section S2.1. 

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Chemical Name and Formula Materials of Construction6 Common Chemical Group ... 

State the chemical name and formula of lime, lime water, limestone, chloride of lime, bleaching powder, marble, muriatic acid, oil of vitriol, blue vitriol, ammonia, sal ammoniac, salt, soda, potash, caustic soda, quicklime, slaked lime, cream of tartar. 

Experiment 180. — (a) Examine the three oxides and tabulate their most obvious physical properties, stating the exact chemical name and formula and the popular name of each oxide. 

Give the chemical name and formula of galena, cerussite, anglesite, sugar of lead, white lead, red lead, litharge, lead peroxide, chrome yellow. 

Give the chemical name and formula of red hematite, iron pyrites, magnetite, loadstone, copperas, green vitriol, iron liquor. 

S. What are die chemical names and formulas of the substances with the fol lowing common names lampblack, saltpeter, Chile saltpeter. Dry Ice ... 

There is a tutorial on the textbook s Web site that will provide practice converting between chemical names and formulas. 

As you study this book, you will acquire certain chemical skills. These include writing chemical names and formulas, writing chemical equations, and solving chemical problems—the things listed previously as Goals 2, 3, and 4. You will develop these skills by studying and working the examples in the text. 

As noted in the introduction to this chapter, the most important thing you can do to learn nomenclature is to learn the system. The system is based on some rules, prefixes, and suffixes that you must memorize. You can then apply the rules in writing the names and formulas of hundreds of chemical substances. This is by far the easiest and quickest way to learn how to write chemical names and formulas. 

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