Final answer:
The systematic name for the compound Al(NO₃)₃ is aluminum nitrate, where aluminum is the cation and nitrate is the anion. Three nitrate ions are needed to balance one aluminum ion due to their respective charges, leading to this chemical formula.
Step-by-step explanation:
The systematic name for the compound Al(NO₃)₃ is aluminum nitrate. In ionic compounds, the cation (positive ion) is named first, followed by the anion (negative ion). For Al(NO₃)₃, aluminum acts as the cation with a 3+ charge, denoted as aluminum(III), and the nitrate ion is NO₃⁻. As the aluminum ion has a charge of 3+, and the nitrate ion has a charge of 1-, it takes three nitrate ions to balance one aluminum ion, resulting in the compound's formula Al(NO₃)₃. When naming ionic compounds such as sodium chloride, aluminum oxide, or copper(II) oxide, the name of the metal cation is given first, followed by the name of the anion, with a Roman numeral to denote the charge of the cation if necessary.
For instance, in the compound Fe3(PO4)2, we have the iron(III) cation and the phosphate anion. Therefore, the name of the compound is iron(III) phosphate. Similarly, for Al(NO₃)₃, combining the name of the cation (aluminum) and the anion (nitrate) results in the name aluminum nitrate.