There are a few definitions of acids and bases which we covered in an earlier post. Although it is not always accurate, you can recognize acids when you see an H with any of the anions you learned so far. For example, HCl, H₂SO₄, HNO₃, and H₃PO₄.

 

The name of an acid is derived from the name of its anion. These are the correlation patterns for the names of monoatomic and polyatomic (oxoanions) ions and their acids:

 

 

For example,

 

Cl^– (chloride) – HCl (hydrochloric acid)

NO₃^– (nitrate) – HNO₃ (nitric acid)

SO₃^2- (sulfite) – H₂SO₃ (sulfurous acid)

ClO^– (hypochlorite) – HClO (hypochlorous acid)

ClO₄^– (perchlorate) – HClO₄ (perchloric acid)

 

 

Examples of the most common types of ions and their acids are summarized in the following table:

 

 

Naming Bases

Most bases are substances that yield hydroxide ions (OH-) when dissolved in water. To name a base, add the word hydroxide to the name of the cation:

 

 

More practice examples on nomenclature and formulas can be found in this multiple-choice quiz:

 

Check Also 

• Subatomic particles and Isotopes
• Naming Monatomic and Polyatomic Ions
• Naming Ionic Compounds
• Naming Covalent Compounds
• Naming Acids and Bases
• Atomic and Molecular Masses
• The Mole and Molar Mass
• Molar Calculations
• Percent Composition and Empirical Formula