4.6: Nomenclature - Executive Summary

The most important step in naming a chemical is determining which category that chemical belongs in. There are several categories of chemicals, but we have discussed 3 of them in this section: ionic, covalent, and acids. When you begin to name a compound, the first thing you should do is decide which of these 3 categories that compound fits into. Ionic compounds usually contain a metal and a nonmetal (any exceptions would involve polyatomic ions instead of a metal.) Covalent compounds will only contain nonmetals. Acids will start with hydrogen. Decide on which of these categories the compound fits into, and then name it using the appropriate system. The flow chart below summarizes many of the details about naming these compounds.

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