Question

What is the correct name for K2HPO4?

a. dipotassium hydrogen phosphate
b. potassium hydrogen phosphoxide
c. potassium hydrogen phosphate
d. potassium dihydrogen phosphate

Answer 1

The correct name for K2HPO4 is dipotassium hydrogen phosphate, which is represented by option (a). This is determined by the naming conventions for ionic compounds, considering the charge on each ion.

Step-by-step explanation:

The correct name for K2HPO4 is dipotassium hydrogen phosphate. In naming ionic compounds, the cation (positively charged ion) is named first, followed by the anion (negatively charged ion). Potassium (K) is the cation here, and hydrogen phosphate (HPO42-) is the anion.

The hydrogen phosphate ion consists of one hydrogen ion (H+) and the phosphate ion (PO43-). Since there are two potassium ions needed to balance the charge, it is referred to as dipotassium. This leads us to the correct answer which is option (a) dipotassium hydrogen phosphate.

Answer 2

The correct name for K2HPO4 is dipotassium hydrogen phosphate, named after its constituents: two potassium ions and one hydrogen phosphate ion.

Step-by-step explanation:

The correct name for the compound K2HPO4 is a. dipotassium hydrogen phosphate. This name reflects the presence of two potassium ions (K+) and one hydrogen phosphate ion (HPO42-). It is important not to confuse this with potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KH2PO4), which contains one potassium ion and one dihydrogen phosphate ion (H2PO4-).

In ionic compounds like K2HPO4, the cation (positively charged ion) is named first, followed by the name of the anion (negatively charged ion). Since we have two potassium ions, the prefix 'di-' is used to indicate this, followed by the name of the metal 'potassium'. The anion name 'hydrogen phosphate' comes from the HPO42- ion.