Section 2

Chemical formulae

A chemical formula is a useful shorthand method for describing the atoms in a chemical:
sometimes you will see the formula used instead of the name, but you should not do this if you
are asked for a name.
The chemical formula of an element or compound tells you:
• Which elements it contains: eg FeSO4 contains iron, sulphur and oxygen
• How many atoms of each kind are in each molecule: eg H2SO4 contains two atoms of
hydrogen, one atom of sulphur and four atoms of oxygen in each molecule
• How the atoms are arranged: eg C2H5OH contains a group of atoms known as the ethyl
group, -C2H5, and a hydroxyl group, -OH
• The masses of the various elements in a compound: eg 18 g of water, H2O, contains 2 g of
hydrogen atoms and 16 g of oxygen since the relative atomic mass of hydrogen is 1 (x 2
because there two hydrogen atoms) and that of oxygen is 16.
You should not learn large numbers of chemical formulae by heart. However, it is useful to
know a few of them and when you do you should be able to work out the rest. The table on page
10 shows the names, formulae and valency of the more common elements and some groups of
atoms, called radicals, that you will study and you should refer to it when necessary.
Although it’s best to learn formulae by using the valency of the common parts, it is sometimes
useful to be able to work out the formula of a compound. This set of rules helps you to do this
using information in the table.
You can think of valency as the combining power and use it to show the simplest ratio in which
the atoms of the elements and radicals combine together in the formula. The following rules can
now be applied:
• Write down the symbols of the elements and radicals given in the chemical name of the
compound
• Now write down the valency of each element or radical under the corresponding symbols
for the element or radical
• Now cross them over as shown in the example on page 10
• The valency shows the simplest combining ratio and may be cancelled down but only the
valency can be simplified in this way
• If an element has more than one valency, the name of the compound will indicate which
valency is to be used.
Here are a few examples:
• Sodium Sulphate

NaSO4
= Na2SO4

2 1

• Calcium hydrogen carbonate

Ca(HCO3)

= Ca(HCO3)2
2 1

Note: A bracket must be placed around the radical if it is multiplied by 2 or more and
composed of more than one element.
Eg MgBr2 no bracket required
Ca(OH)2 bracket essential as CaOH2 is incorrect.
• Often you can cancel the numbers on the two formulae:
Ca2(CO3)2 =CaCO3
However, you should not do this for organic compounds: C2H4 has two atoms
of carbon and four of hydrogen so it cannot be cancelled down to CH2.
• Copper(I) oxide means use copper valency 1, ie Cu2O: lead(II) nitrate means use lead
valency 2, ie Pb(NO3)2
The periodic table can help you to find the valency of an element and hence the formula of its
compounds.
Although you can use the table above to work out the formulae of many compounds it is
important to realise that all formulae were originally found by experiment.
On page 11 you will find a table of the more common elements and groups that you may have
met at GCSE. Also included are a few that you will meet in the first few weeks of your
Advanced course or are mentioned in some of the calculations in this booklet. These are in
italics.
Symbols and Valences of Common Elements and Radicals

ELEMENTS RADICALS

Symbol Valency Symbol Valency

Aluminium Al 3 Ammonium NH4 1

Barium Ba 2 Carbonate CO3 2

Bromine Br 1 Chloride Cl 1

Calcium Ca 2 Hydrogen-carbonate HCO3 1

Carbon C 4 Hydrogen-sulphate HSO3 1

Chlorine Cl 1 Hydroxide OH 1

Cobalt Co 2 Nitrate NO3 1

Copper Cu 1&2 Nitrite NO2 1

Hydrogen H 1 Sulphate SO4 2

Iodine I 1 Sulphite SO3 2

Iron Fe 2&3

Lead Pb 2&4 Chlorate(I) ClO 1

Magnesium Mg 2 Chlorate(V) ClO3 1

Manganese Mn 2&4 Vanadate(V) VO3 1

Mercury Hg 1&2 Manganate(VII) MnO4 1

Nitrogen N 3&5 Chromate(VI) CrO4 2

Oxygen O 2 Dichromate(VI) Cr2O7 2

Phosphorus P 3&5

Potassium K 1

Silicon Si 4

Silver Ag 1

Sodium Na 1

Sulphur S 2,4,6
Exercise 2

Writing formulae from names

Use the data in the table on page 11 to write the formulae of the following. Before you start this
exercise, make sure you have read Section 3 (Naming of compounds on page 19) of this booklet.

1 Sodium Chloride

2 Sodium Hydroxide

3 Sodium Carbonate

4 Sodium Sulphate

5 Sodium Phosphate

6 Potassium Chloride

7 Potassium Bromide

8 Potassium Iodide

9 Potassium Hydrogen Carbonate

10 Potassium Nitrite

11 Magnesium Chloride

12 Magnesium Nitrate

13 Magnesium Hydroxide

14 Magnesium Oxide

15 Magnesium Carbonate
16 Calcium Oxide

17 Calcium Chloride

18 Calcium Sulphate

19 Calcium Carbonate

20 Barium Chloride

21 Barium Sulphate

22 Aluminium Chloride

23 Aluminium Oxide

24 Aluminium Hydroxide

25 Aluminium Sulphate

26 Copper(II) Sulphate

27 Copper(II) Oxide

28 Copper(II) Chloride

29 Copper(II) Nitrate

30 Copper(I) Oxide

31 Copper(I) Chloride

32 Zinc Nitrate

33 Zinc Carbonate
34 Zinc Oxide

35 Silver Chloride

36 Silver Bromide

37 Silver Iodide

38 Silver Nitrate

39 Silver Oxide

40 Lead(II) Nitrate

41 Lead(II) Carbonate

42 Lead(II) Oxide

43 Lead(IV) Oxide

44 Lead(II) Chloride

45 Lead(IV) Chloride

46 Lead(II) Sulphide

47 Tin(II) Chloride

48 Tin(IV) Chloride

49 Iron(II) Sulphate

50 Iron(II) Chloride

51 Iron(III) Sulphate

52 Iron(III) Chloride
53 Iron(III) Hydroxide

54 Iron(II) Hydroxide

55 Ammonium Chloride

56 Ammonium Carbonate

57 Ammonium Hydroxide

58 Ammonium Nitrate

59 Ammonium Sulphate

60 Ammonium Phosphate

61 Phosphorus Trichloride

62 Phosphorus Pentachloride

63 Phosphorus Trioxide

64 Phosphorus Pentoxide

65 Hydrogen Phosphate (Phosphoric Acid)

66 Hydrogen Sulphate (Sulphuric Acid)

67 Hydrogen Nitrate (Nitric Acid)

68 Hydrogen Chloride (Hydrochloric Acid)

69 Carbon Tetrachloride

70 Silicon Tetrachloride
71 Silicon Dioxide

72 Sulphur Dioxide

73 Sulphur Trioxide

74 Hydrogen Sulphide

75 Chlorine(I) Oxide

76 Nitrogen Dioxide

77 Nitrogen Monoxide

78 Carbon Dioxide

79 Carbon Monoxide

80 Hydrogen Hydroxide
Section 3

Naming of compounds

At Advanced Level you will meet many compounds that are new to you; a lot of these will be
organic compounds. In this section, we will be looking at the naming of compounds that you
may already have met at GCSE level. Many of these compounds are named using simple rules.
However, there are some that have ‘trivial’ names not fixed by the rules. It is important that you
learn the names and formulae of these compounds. Later in the course, you will learn the rules
for naming most of the organic compounds you will meet.

Naming inorganic compounds

The name must show which elements are present and, where confusion is possible, the valency
of the elements concerned.
1 You need to remember that if there are only two elements present then the name will end in
-ide
Thus, oxides contain an element and oxygen
eg Na2O is Sodium Oxide
CaO is Calcium Oxide

Chlorides contain an element and chlorine

eg MgCl2 is Magnesium Chloride
AlCl3 is Aluminium Chloride

Bromides and Iodides have an element and either bromine or iodine

eg KBr is Potassium Bromide
ZnI is Zinc Iodide

Hydrides contain an element and hydrogen and Nitrides an element and nitrogen.
eg LiH is Lithium Hydride
Mg3N2 is Magnesium Nitride

Other elements also form these types of compounds and the name always ends in -ide. The
exceptions to this are hydroxides that have the -OH group and cyanides, which have the
-CN group.
eg NaOH is Sodium Hydroxide
Ca(OH)2 is Calcium Hydroxide
KCN is Potassium Cyanide
2 If the elements concerned have more than one valency this may need to be shown. Thus as
iron has valency 2 and 3, the name Iron Chloride would not tell you which of the two
possible compounds FeCl2 or FeCl3 is being considered. In this case the valency of the iron
is indicated by the use of a Roman II or III in brackets after the name of the metal. In this
case Iron(II) Chloride for FeCl2 or Iron(III) Chloride for FeCl3.
eg PbCl2 is Lead(II) Chloride
PbCl4 is Lead(IV) Chloride

Fe(OH)2 is Iron(II) Hydroxide

Mn(OH)2 is Manganese(II) Hydroxide

3 For compounds containing two non-metal atoms the actual number of atoms of the element
present are stated.
eg CO is Carbon Monoxide where mon- means one
CO2 is Carbon Dioxide where di- means two

SO2 is Sulphur Dioxide. This could be called Sulphur(IV) Oxide

SO3 is Sulphur Trioxide. This could be called Sulphur(VI) Oxide

PCl3 is Phosphorus Trichloride.

This could be called Phosphorus(III) Chloride
PCl5 is Phosphorus Pentachloride.
This could be called Phosphorus(V) Chloride

CCl4 is Carbon Tetrachloride and

SiCl4 is Silicon Tetrachloride.

4 Where a compound contains a metal, a non-metal and oxygen it has a name ending in -ate
or -ite. You need to remember the names and formulae of the groups listed on page 11. To
cover the ideas we will look at the following groups
Carbonate -CO3
Sulphate -SO4
Nitrate -NO3

Thus a compound of sodium, carbon and oxygen would be Na2CO3 and would be called
Sodium Carbonate.
eg NaNO3 is Sodium Nitrate
Mg(NO3)2 is Magnesium Nitrate

Fe2(SO4)3 is Iron(III) Sulphate

FeSO4 is Iron(II) Sulphate
5 Because most non-metals can have more than one valency they can also produce more than
one acid upon which these groups are based. Thus sulphur can form sulphates and
sulphites. The ending -ite is used when an element forms more than one such compound. In
all cases the -ite is used for the compound with the lower number of oxygens atoms.
Sulphate can also be referred to as sulphate(VI) and sulphite can also be referred to as
sulphate(IV). In the case of nitrogen with oxygen the compounds would be nitrate and
nitrite or nitrate(V) and nitrate(III).

In summary:

Common name Systematic name Formulae

Sulphate Sulphate(VI) -SO4

Sulphite Sulphate(IV) -SO3

Nitrate Nitrate(V) -NO3

Nitrite Nitrate(III) -NO2

Chlorate Chlorate(V) -ClO3

Hypochlorite Chlorate(I) -ClO

Great care needs to be taken when using these systematic names, as they are called, because the
properties of the two groups of compounds will be very different. In some cases the use of the
wrong compound in a reaction could cause considerable danger. For this reason you should
always read the label on a bottle or jar and make sure it corresponds exactly to what you should
be using.

Other elements can form compounds involving oxygen in this way. These include Chlorate(V),
Chromate(VI), Manganate(VII) and Phosphate(V).

eg KNO2 is Potassium Nitrite or Potassium Nitrate(III)

Na2SO3 is Sodium Sulphite or Sodium Sulphate(IV)
K2CrO4 is Potassium Chromate(VI)
KMnO4 is Potassium Manganate(VII)
KClO3 is Potassium Chlorate(V)

6 When a compound is considered it is usual to put the metal down first both in the name and
the formula. The exceptions to this rule are in organic compounds where the name has the
metal first but the formula has the metal at the end.
eg CH3COONa is Sodium Ethanoate
7 The elements nitrogen and hydrogen can join together to form a group called the
ammonium group. This must not be confused with the compound ammonia, but more of
that later. This ammonium group has the formula NH4+ and sits in the place generally taken
by a metal in the formula.

eg NH4Cl is Ammonium Chloride

(NH4)2SO4 is Ammonium Sulphate
NH4ClO3 is Ammonium Chlorate(V)

8 There are a small number of simple molecules that do not follow the above rules. You will
need to learn their names and formulae.
They include:
Water which is H2O
Sulphuric Acid which is H2SO4
Nitric Acid which is HNO3
Hydrochloric Acid which is HCl
Ammonia which is NH3
Methane which is CH4

8 Organic compounds have their own set of rules for naming but you will need to learn some
of the basic rules. The names are generally based on the names of the simple hydrocarbons.
These follow a simple pattern after the first four:
CH4 is Methane
C2H6 is Ethane
C3H8 is Propane
C4H10 is Butane
After butane the names are based on the prefix for the number of carbons C5-pent, C6 - hex and
so on.
Thus organic compounds with 2 carbons will either start with Eth- or have -eth- in their name.
eg C2H4 is Ethene
C2H5OH is Ethanol
CH3COOH is Ethanoic Acid
C2H5Cl is Chloroethane
Exercise 3

Names from formulae

Use the notes in this section, the data in the table on page 11 and the copy of the periodic table
on page 113 to write the names of the following. Before you start this exercise make sure you
have read Section 2 of this booklet (Chemical formulae on page 9).

1 H2O

2 CO2

3 NH3

4 O2

5 H2

6 SO2

7 SO3

8 HCl

9 HI

10 HF

11 CH4

12 H2S

13 HBr

14 H2SO4

15 HNO3

16 NaCl

17 NaNO3

18 Na2CO3

19 NaOH

20 Na2SO4

21 CaCl2

22 Ca(NO3)2

23 Ca(OH)2
24 CaSO4

25 BaCl2

26 AlCl3

27 Al(NO3)3

28 Al2(SO4)3

29 FeSO4

30 FeCl2

31 FeCl3

32 Fe2(SO4)3

33 PbO

34 PbO2

35 Pb(NO3)2

36 PbCl2

37 PbSO4

38 Cu(NO3)2

39 CuCl

40 CuCl2

41 CuSO4

42 ZnCl2

43 AgNO3

44 NH4Cl

45 (NH4)2SO4

46 NH4VO3 (V is Vanadium)

47 KClO3

48 KIO3

49 NaClO

50 NaNO2
51 C2H6

52 C4H10

53 C8H18

54 (NH4)2CO3

55 KMnO4

56 K2CrO4

57 KHCO3

58 KI

59 Co(NO3)2

60 KAt