Chemistry formula writing and naming

The chemical name for baking soda is sodium bicarbonate. Leave out all charges and all subscripts that are 1. Since the final molecule has to be neutral, the positives and negatives must cancel each other out to add to zero.

The subscripts cannot be reduced further, so the empirical formula is Ca ClO 2. Ionic compounds have high melting and boiling points, and they tend to be hard and brittle.

Numbers in Chemical Formulas The position of the numbers in chemical formulas provide specific information about the element or compound.

For cations that take on multiple charges typically transition metalsthe charge is written using Roman numerals in parentheses immediately following the element name. Naming Acids and Bases Acid names are based on the anion they form when dissolved in water; base names follow the rules for ionic, organic, or molecular compounds.

However, it is important to be able to recognize and name all chemicals in a standardized way. In this example, the compound has one magnesium atom and two nitrate molecules.