Ionic Compounds
Georgia Elizabeth Williams
Introduction to ionic compounds
e.g. when sodium (Na+) and chlorine (Cl-) form a bond it creates a salt called sodium chloride. This is because sodium is a metal and chlorine is a non-metal.
If then name of a compound ends in '-ate' this shows us that oxygen is present in the compound.
However, if the name of a compound ends in '-ide' this shows us that no extra oxygen is present in the compound.
Compound Ions
Hydroxide (OH-)
Nitrate (NO3+)
Carbonate (CO3 2+)
Use brackets if you need to put a number with any of the compound ions
e.g. Mg(OH)2 is magnesium hydroxide.
Ionic Formula Rules
- Swap the numbers that give the charge for each ion and write them after the relevant symbol.
- If the number is 1. don't write it in the formula.
- If both numbers are the same, don't write them in the formula.
e.g. Copper Nitrate: (Cu2+) and (NO3-) then becomes Cu(NO3)2.
The oppositely charged ions are arranged in a regular way to form giant ionic lattices. Ionic compounds often form crystals as a result.
e.g. sodium chloride as shown in the image below (NaCl)