Question

Which of the following statements correctly describe how to name a binary molecular compound?

a The name of the first element remains unchanged, except for the addition of a prefix where appropriate.
b The second element is named with its root and the suffix -ide.
c A Greek numerical prefix is used to indicate the number of atoms of each element in the compound.

Answer 1

To name a binary molecular compound, the first element's name is used with a prefix if necessary, the second element's root is followed by the suffix -ide, and Greek numerical prefixes are used to show the number of atoms for each element.

Step-by-step explanation:

Naming binary molecular compounds involves a few specific steps, which can be summarized as follows:

• The name of the first element in the formula remains mostly unchanged; however, a numerical prefix is added if there is more than one atom of that element present.
• For the second element, we use its root and add the suffix -ide to form the name of the compound.
• Greek numerical prefixes such as mono-, di-, tri-, and tetra- are used to indicate the number of atoms of each element in the compound.
• In compounds where the second element is oxygen, the a or o at the end of a polysyllabic prefix is dropped before o of the oxygen but is kept for monosyllabic prefixes (i.e. monoxide).
• The prefix 'mono-' is not used for the first element if there is only a single atom of that element.

As an example, CO2 is named carbon dioxide, reflecting one atom of carbon (no prefix needed) and two atoms of oxygen (indicated with the prefix di-).