Dihydrogen Monoxide

Using the same logic, the chemical compound H20 can also be named using the prefixes mono- and di-. Because there is only one oxygen atom in water and the oxygen is the second element in the compound, the prefix mono- is used. The scientific name for H20 is dihydrogen monoxide. Of course, this compound is also much better known by its common name—water. 

Common names of chemical compounds are generally much shorter than the corresponding systematic names. The systematic names for water, ammonia, and methane, for example, are dihydrogen monoxide, H20 trihydrogen nitride, NH3 and tetrahydrogen carbide, CH4. For these compounds, which would you rather use common names or systematic names ... 

Way, Tom. 2006 (revised). Dihydrogen Monoxide. Dihydrogen Monoxide Research Division— Dihydrogen Monoxide Info, http //www.dhmo.org/ (accessed June 2, 2006). 

In 1996, a high school student wrote a report about this chemical, dihydrogen monoxide, for a science fair project. The information in the student s report was completely factual. As a result, 86% of those who read the report—43 out of 50 students—voted in favour of banning the chemical. What they did not realize was that dihydrogen monoxide is simply another name for water. 

What if you did not know that water and dihydrogen monoxide are the same thing What knowledge and skills can help you distinguish genuine environmental issues from pranks like this one What other strategies can help you interpret all the facts, opinions, half-truths, and falsehoods that you encounter every day ... 

Common names of some molecular compounds How frequently have you drunk an icy, cold glass of dihydrogen monoxide Quite frequently, hut you probably didn t call it that. You called it by its more common name, which is water. Remember from Chapter 8 that many ionic compounds have common names in addition to their scientific ones. Baking soda is sodium hydrogen carbonate and common table salt is sodium chloride. Many covalent compounds also have both common and scientific names. 

Water is the third familiar compound you will compare in your detective work on the submicroscopic structure of compounds. The formal chemical name of water is dihydrogen monoxide, but nobody calls it that. Water covers approximately 70 percent of Earth s surface and also makes up about 70 percent of the mass of the average human body. 

A number of compounds, including those other than binary molecular compounds, have been known for so long and have been so widely used that they have acquired common names that do not describe their chemical formulas. The best example of these is HjO, which is always known as water, not dihydrogen monoxide. Other examples are HjOj, hydrogen peroxide NH3, ammonia and N2O, nitrous oxide. 

Since there are so many different compounds, chemists have developed systematic ways to name them. If you learn these naming rules, you can examine a compound s formula and determine its name or vice versa. Many compounds also have a common name. For example, Ff20 has the common name water and the systematic name dihydrogen monoxide. A common name is like a nickname for a compound, used by those who are familiar with it. Since water is such a familiar compound, everyone uses its common name and not its systematic name. In the sections that follow, you will learn how to systematically name simple ionic and molecular compounds. Keep in mind, however, that some compmmds also have common names that are often used instead of the systematic name. Common names can be learned only through familiarity. 

The vast number of compounds that exist require us to devise a systematic way to name them. Many compounds, however, aiso have common names that can oniy be teamed through famiiiarity or memorization. For exampie, H2O has the common name water and the systematic name dihydrogen monoxide. NH3 has the common name ammonia and the systematic name nitrogen trihydride. A common name is a sort of nickname for a compound, used by those who are familiar with it. Some compounds, such as carbon dioxide for example, are known only by their systematic names. Others, such as water, are known only by their common names. The systematic name of a compound can be assigned based on its chemical formula. In this section, we learn how to assign systematic names to simple ionic and molecular compounds. 

People joke about alternate names for water, which in itself appears to be a trivial name, but since it is so entrenched in our language, it is also the official chemical name for HjO. Since it is a binary molecular compound, it could be called dihydrogen monoxide. Using the letter abbreviations for the prefixes and stem words, water can be abbreviated DHMO. 

For example, oaloium carbonate is better known as limestone, and sodium chloride is usually referred to simply as table salt. And everyone recognizes dihydrogen monoxide by its popular name, water. 

Hydrogen reacts with oxygen to form dihydrogen monoxide, better known as water. 

Shipping name Dihydrogen monoxide Liquid Hazard class Not regulated SECTION 14 I Disposal Information... 

Dihydrogen monoxide (DHMO) is a rarely used name of water. This term has been used in various hoaxes that call for this "lethal chemical" to be banned, such as in the dihydrogen monoxide hoax. Other systematic names for water include hydroxic acid, hydroxylic acid, and hydrogen hydroxide. Both acid and alkali names exist for water because it is amphoteric (able to react both as an acid or an alkali). None of these exotic names are used widely. 

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