Writing chemical formulae

Valency
The ability of an element to combine with other elements to form compounds can be expressed by the term valency.
Valency refers to the number of electrons in the outer shell, that need to be donated or gained to make a stable shell
of an ion or atom, e.g. hydrogens valency is H
+
, lithiums valency is Li
+
and chlorines is Cl

.
In the case of ionic compounds, the valency of each element is the number of electrons lost or gained by the reacting
metal and non-metal. It is therefore equal to the charge on each ion which is related to the electron configuration and
the number of electrons in the valence shell.
Valencies of common polyatomic ions
+1 1 2 3
Ammonium Ion NH
4
+
Acetate Ion CH
3
COO

Carbonate Ion CO
3
2
Phosphate Ion PO
4
3
Hydrogen Carbonate
HCO
3

Chromate Ion CrO
4
2
Blue indicates that
these should be known.
Hydroxide Ion OH

Dichromate Ion
Cr
2
CO
7
2
Nitrate Ion NO
3

Sulfate Ion SO
4
2
Nitrite Ion NO
2

Sulfite Ion SO
3
2
Writing formula
The following rules should be used:
All electrons must be accounted for as there can be no loose or unpaired electrons.
The sum of positive and negative valencies of ionic compounds is zero.
Steps involved:
Determine an elements valency
How many electrons are going to be lost or gained
Naming compounds
In the early days of chemistry, there was no system for naming of compounds. Chemists used common names
like bicarbonate of soda, quicklime, milk of magnesia, Epsom salts and laughing gas to describe compounds.
As the number of named compounds increased it was obvious that if such common names were used, confusion
would result. In 1787, in order to solve the problem a scientist named Lavoisier established the principles for a
systematic naming process.
There are however, some familiar compounds that are always referred to by their common name for example H
2
O is
always referred to as water, rather than di-hydrogen monoxide.
Naming ionic compounds
To name an ionic compound:
The positive ion (usually a metal) is named first, and the negative ion is second.
A simple positive ion takes its name from its parent element. For e.g. Na
+
is called sodium.
A simple negative ion is named by taking the first part of the parent elements name and adding the suffix -ide.
Cl

was originally a chlorine atom but is now an ion is given the new name chloride.
Likewise, Br

(originally bromine)

is called bromide, O
2
(originally oxygen) is called oxide and
N
3
(originally nitrogen) is called nitride.
Naming covalent compounds
The naming of covalent compounds is similar to ionic compounds, even though there are no ions present:
The first element in the chemical formula is named first, using the elements full name.
The second element is named as if it was a negative ion.
Prefixes are used to show the number of atoms present.
If the first element exists as a single atom, no prefix is used. For example, CO
2
is called carbon dioxide
To avoid awkward pronunciation CO is called carbon monoxide, not carbon mono-oxide.
Some examples of covalent compounds and their names are
CO
2
carbon dioxide CO carbon monoxide
N
2
O
5
dinitrogen pentoxide CCl
4
carbon tetrachloride
NH
3
ammonia CH
4
carbon tetrahydride, methane

Balancing equations
No atoms can be created or destroyed. They are just rearranged.
You cannot change the valencies therefore you cannot change the formula.
Steps:
1. Write the formulae for reactants and products.
2. Make the number of atoms for reactants equal the number of atoms for products by placing whole numbers in
front of the formula.
The law of conservation of matter
The Law of Conservation of Matter (or Law of Conservation of Mass) states that: matter cannot be neither created
nor destroyed. Instead it can only be changed from one form to another. This means that there must be the same
number of each type of atom on each side of the equation. The atoms are simply being rearranged through the
reaction process.
General equations
1. Oxidation (Corrosion):
METAL + OXYGEN METAL OXIDE
Examples:
i. Magnesium + Oxygen Magnesium Oxide
2Mg + O
2
2MgO
ii. Iron (II) + Oxygen Iron Oxide
2Fe + O
2
2FeO
2. Metals with acids:
METAL + ACID SALT + HYDROGEN GAS
This type of reaction involves active metals such as Na, K, Hg, Ca etc. Unreactive metals such as Au (gold) do not
react with hydrochloric acid (HCl), no matter how concentrated the acid is. Copper reacts with HNO
3
(nitric acid).
Examples:
i. Sodium + Hydrochloric Acid Sodium Chloride + Hydrogen Gas
2Na
(s)
+ 2HCl
(aq)
2NaCl
(s)
+ H
2 (g)

ii. Zinc + Hydrochloric Acid Zinc Chloride + Hydrogen Gas
Zn
(s)
+ 2HCl
(aq)
ZnCl
2(s)
+ H
2 (g)

3. Acids with carbonates:
ACID + CARBONATE SALT + WATER + CARBON DIOXIDE
Examples:
i. Hydrochloric Acid + Zinc Carbonate Zinc Chloride + Water + Carbon Dioxide
2HCl
(g)
+ ZnCO
3

(s)
ZnCl
2 (aq)
+ H
2
O
(l)
+ CO
2

(g)

ii. Sulfuric Acid + Calcium Carbonate Calcium Sulfate + Water + Carbon Dioxide
H
2
SO
4 (aq)
+ CaCO
3 (s)
CaSO
4 (aq)
+ H
2
O
(l)
+ CO
2 (g)

4. Neutralisation (acids with alkalis or bases):
ACID + BASE (ALKALI) SALT + WATER
Neutralisation is an exothermic reaction, which raises the temperature of the solution.
Examples:
i. Sodium Hydroxide + Hydrochloric Acid Sodium Chloride + Water
NaOH
(aq)
+ HCl
(aq)
NaCl
(aq)
+ H
2
O
(l)
ii. Calcium Hydroxide + Nitric Acid Calcium Nitrate + Water
Ca(OH)
2 (aq)
+ 2HNO
3 (aq)
Ca(NO
3
)
2 (aq)
+ 2H
2
O
(l)
Corrosion (rusting)
Corrosion refers to the reaction of a metal with gases in the air.
There are many methods to prevent corrosion such as galvanizing, chromium plating and tin plating.

Combustion
Combustion is any chemical reaction in which heat (and usually light) is produced, sometimes called burning,
for example: 2Mg
(s)
+ O
2

(g)
2MgO
(s)
+ heat + white light.
Combustion reactions involve the burning of a usually organic substance with oxygen.
Combustion of organic substances almost always produces CO
2
and H
2
O.
Rapid combustion produces flame and high temperatures e.g. fire
Slow combustion produces low temperatures and no flames.
Combustion reactions are an essential part of our lives: the burning of fossil fuels such as coal are all combustion
reactions which are vital for cooking food, warming houses and driving vehicles.
Other reactions
Combination or synthesis
Word equation: A + B AB
Often two or more substances usually elements combine together, to form a single substance. These are called direct
combination reactions or synthesis reactions, and it has only one product, for example:
i. Iron (II) + Sulfur Iron (II) Sulfide + energy
Fe
(s)
+ S
(s)
FeS
(s)

ii. Sodium + Chloride Sodium Chloride + energy
2Na + Cl
2
2NaCl + energy
Decomposition
Word equation: AB A + B
Decomposition involves the reaction of a single substance by which it breaks down into two or more simple
substances. Decomposition reactions have only one reactant, and are caused by either light or heat. Decomposition
caused by heat is called thermal decomposition, for example:
i. Calcium Carbonate + heat energy Calcium Oxide+ Carbon Dioxide
CaCO
3 (s)
+ heat CaO
(s)
+ CO
2 (g)

ii. Copper Carbonate + heat energy Copper Oxide + Carbon Dioxide
CuCO
3

(s)
+ heat CuO
(s)
+ CO
2 (g)

Some decomposition reactions can also be caused by light, for example:
i. Silver Chloride + light energy Silver + Chlorine
AgCl
2(s)
+ light Ag
(s)
+ Cl
2 (g)

ii. Silver Bromide + light energy Silver + Bromine
AgBr
2(s)
+ light Ag
(s)
+ Br
2

(l)

Precipitation
Word Equation: AB + CD AD + CB
Certain solutions when mixed react to product a suspension in a liquid, an insoluble product, which is a compound,
and is called the precipitate, for example
i. Silver Nitrate + Sodium Chloride Silver Chloride + Sodium Nitrate
AgNO
3

(aq)
+ NaCl
(aq)
AgCl
(s)
+ NaNO
3 (aq)