binary molecular compounds

• binary molecular compound: a molecular compound that is composed of two nonmetal atoms

naming binary molecular compounds

1. name the first nonmetal element just as it appears on the periodic table

2. use a prefix (listed below) to indicate how many atoms of the first nonmetal are in the compound, but never use “mono” to indicate one; that is assumed.

3. change the ending of the second nonmetal to “-ide”

4. use a prefix to indicate how many atoms of the second nonmetal there are in the compound, “mono” can be used for these.

5. do not include roman numerals—don’t balance charges for binary molecular compounds

prefixes:

• di (2)

• tri (3)

• tetra (4)

• penta (5)

• hexa (6)

• hepta (7)

• octa (8)

• nona (9)

• deca (10)