The Rules of Binary Covalent Nomenclature by Caitlin

Binary covalent compounds are composed of two different elements, typically non-metals. It is important in the scientific community to know how to correctly name these compounds. There are four main rules to follow in order to piece together the name of a binary covalent compound.

Rule #1:The first element keeps its name.

Rule #2:The first element only gets a prefix if it has a subscript in the formula.

Rule #3: The second element gets the suffix -ide.

Rule #4:The second element always gets a prefix.

Prefixes Used in Binary Covalent Nomenclature

Prefix	Number Indicated
Mono-	1
Di-	2
Tri-	3
Tetra-	4
Penta-	5
Hexa-	6
Hepta-	7
Octa-	8
Nona-	9
Deca-	10

Exceptions:

●     If the compound contains one atom of the element that is written first in the name, the prefix "mono-" is not used.

●     When there are two vowels adjacent to one another, the end of the Greek prefix is usually dropped.

●     When the compound contains a oxygen and a halogen, the name of the halogen is the first word in the name.

Nitrogen Monoxide

The rules of binary covalent nomenclature help set a standard for all scientists to follow. Without it, chemists would be using different names for the same compound. This miscommunication would create a lot of problems.   

Question:

●     How would the field of chemistry change if there wasn’t a standard for all scientists to follow when naming binary covalent compounds?