When looking at a compound name, what is one way you can tell that the compound is covalent?

Question

I need help with science homework. 

Answer 1

Hello Brooke

 

Covalent compounds are formed between 2 or more nonmetals, so look for the names (or chemical symbols) of nonmetal elements in the compound.  In addition, some covalent compounds will contain prefixes such as di, tri, tetra, etc in the chemical name to indicate how many atoms of that element are present in the compound.

 

Some examples:

 

CO₂ - Carbon dioxide

 

CCl₄ - Carbon tetrachloride

 

PBr₃ - Phosphorus tribromide

 

 

Ionic compounds are formed between metals and nonmetals.  The names of ionic compounds will NOT contain prefixes even though there may be more than one atom of the element in the compound.

 

Some examples:

 

K₂O - Potassium oxide (not Dipotassium oxide!!)

 

Ca₃(PO₄)₂ - Calcium phosphate

 

MgCl₂ - Magnesium chloride