Final answer:
The chemical compound KHSO3 is named potassium hydrogen sulfite, which is composed of potassium ions and hydrogen sulfite ions. The naming reflects the ions that constitute the compound.
Step-by-step explanation:
To answer the student's question, KHSO3 is potassium hydrogen sulfite. In chemistry, the name of a compound is determined by the ions present in it. The compound KHSO3 consists of potassium ions (K+) and hydrogen sulfite ions (HSO3-). When naming this compound, potassium retains its name, and the hydrogen sulfite ion is the hydrogen salt of sulfite, thus leading to the name potassium hydrogen sulfite.
In naming compounds such as K2SO4, which is composed of the potassium ion (K+) and the sulfate ion (SO4^2-), the compound is called potassium sulfate because two potassium ions balance the charge on one sulfate ion to form the ionic compound. Examples involving the writing of chemical formulas often clarify the process of ion exchange and the resulting compound names.