Naming Covalent Compounds Made of Two Elements

Binary compounds are compounds made up of only two elements, such as carbon dioxide (COj). Chemists use prefixes in the names of binary compounds to indicate the number of atoms of each nonmetal present. Table 6-2 lists the most common prefixes for binary covalent compounds. 

Number of Atoms Prefix Number of Atoms Prefix  

In general, the prefix mono- is rarely used. Ceirbon monoxide is one of the few compounds that uses it. 

Take a look at the following exeimples to see how to use the prefixes when neuning bineiry covalent compounds (I ve italicized the prefixes)  

P4OJ0 Tetraphosphorus decoxide (chemists try to avoid putting an a and an o together with the oxide name, cis in decaoxide, so they normally drop the a off the prefix) 

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