Question

What is the name for the compound np?

1) a nitrogen monophosphide
2) nitrogen phosphate
3) nitrogen phosphide
4) mononitrogen monophosphide

Answer 1

The correct name for the compound NP is nitrogen phosphide, since it is made of one nitrogen and one phosphorus atom and does not require prefixes for the elements.

Step-by-step explanation:

The name for the compound NP is nitrogen phosphide. When naming binary compounds of two nonmetals, the prefix is used only if there is more than one atom of that element in the compound. Since there is one nitrogen atom and one phosphorus atom in this compound, we do not use the mon- prefix for nitrogen. However, we do change the ending of phosphorus to -ide, resulting in phosphide. Therefore, the correct name is nitrogen phosphide, not nitrogen monophosphide (there's no need for the mono- prefix since each element is present only once), nitrogen phosphate (which suggests a different compound with oxygen), or mononitrogen monophosphide (which is redundant since both elements are in a one-to-one ratio).

Answer 2

The name for the compound NP is nitrogen phosphide, following the rules for naming binary nonmetal compounds using prefixes and the -ide suffix for the second element.

Step-by-step explanation:

The name for the compound NP is nitrogen phosphide. In naming binary compounds of nonmetals, the element that is further to the left in the periodic table (or lower if in the same group) is named first, and the second element is named with an -ide suffix. Both elements typically use a prefix to indicate the number of atoms present if there is more than one atom of that element (mono- for one, di- for two, tri- for three, etc.). Since there is one atom of each element in NP, and it follows the same pattern as the naming of other nitrogen and phosphorus compounds, the correct option is nitrogen phosphide. This can be compared to other compounds mentioned such as nitrogen monoxide (NO), dinitrogen tetroxide (N2O4), and dinitrogen monoxide (N2O).