Final answer:
Covalent compounds are systematically named by identifying the number of atoms of each element present using prefixes and modifying the second element's name with '-ide'. Examples include SF6 as sulfur hexafluoride, N₂O₃ as dinitrogen trioxide, and Cl₂O₇ as dichlorine heptoxide.
Step-by-step explanation:
The systematic naming of covalent compounds involves a set of rules to clearly distinguish compounds with different ratios of elements. The rules for naming covalent compounds are:
Start with the name of the element closer to the left side (and/or lower) of the periodic table.
Follow this with the name of the element closer to the right side (and/or higher) of the periodic table, ending with the suffix '‑ide'.
Use prefixes to indicate the number of atoms of each element present in the molecule.
For example, for the compound SF6, we would name it sulfur hexafluoride because there is one sulfur atom and six fluorine atoms. Similarly, N₂O₃ is dinitrogen trioxide, and Cl₂O₇ is dichlorine heptoxide.
It's important to note that some compounds may have common names that differ from their systematic names. For instance, H₂O is more commonly known as water as opposed to its systematic name, dihydrogen monoxide.