Nomenclature of anions

Nomenclature of anions

One of the common questions that pops up from time to time is how do i write the formula of sodium nitrite? And what’s the difference between sodium nitrite and sodium nitrate? Or sodium nitride? This has to do with the nomenclature of anions.

The convention for naming anions is as follows:

–ide ending is for a monoatomic anion of an element. e.g. hydride, fluoride, oxide, sulfide, nitride, phosphide etc.

–ite ending is for polyatomic anions containing oxygen, oxyanions. -ite is for the one with less oxygen atoms. eg, nitrite, sulfite

–ate ending is for polyatomic anions containing more oxygen atoms. eg nitrate, sulfate

If there’s a series of 4 oxyanions, hypo prefix refers to the anion with less oxygen and per- prefix refers to the one with more oxygen. e.g. hypochlorite, perchlorate.

Hopefully now you have a clearer understanding of the nomenclature of anions. For H2 Chemistry, this is not super crucial but it’s good to know. Usually questions will give you the formula of the compound, not just its name.

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