Question

Write the names of the following molecules. (a) \(\mathrm{ICl}_{3}\) (b) \(\mathrm{N}_{2} \mathrm{O}_{5}\) (c) \(\mathrm{PH}_{3}\) (d) \(\mathrm{CBr}_{4}\) (e) \(\mathrm{SO}_{3}\)

Short answer

(a) \(ICl_3\) (b) \(N_2O_5\) (c) \(PH_3\) (d) \(CBr_4\) (e) \(SO_3\) Answer: (a) Iodine Trichloride (b) Dinitrogen Pentoxide (c) Phosphorus Trihydride (Phosphine) (d) Carbon Tetrabromide (e) Sulfur Trioxide

Step-by-step solution

Identify the elements in the molecule

First, identify the element names that correspond to the symbols in the chemical formulas. For example, "I" represents Iodine, "Cl" represents Chlorine, "N" represents Nitrogen, "O" represents Oxygen, and so on.

Determine the number of each element in each molecule

Next, determine how many atoms of each element are in the molecules based on the subscript numbers in the formulas. For example, in \(\mathrm{ICl}_{3}\), there is 1 Iodine atom and 3 Chlorine atoms.

Apply standard prefixes to indicate the number of atoms of each element

Then, use the following prefixes to indicate the number of atoms of each element in the molecule: 1: Mono- 2: Di- 3: Tri- 4: Tetra- 5: Penta- 6: Hexa- 7: Hepta- 8: Octa- 9: Nona- 10: Deca- However, the prefix "mono-" is only used for the second element in binary molecules. For example, use "monoxide" for a single oxygen atom but just "oxide" for a single oxygen atom in a binary molecule containing another element.

Combine the names of the elements with their respective prefixes

Now, combine the prefixes and the element names to determine the names of the molecules: (a) \(\mathrm{ICl}_{3}\): Iodine (I) + Tri- (3 Chlorine atoms) + Chloride = Iodine Trichloride (b) \(\mathrm{N}_{2} \mathrm{O}_{5}\): Di- (2 Nitrogen atoms) + Nitrogen + Penta- (5 Oxygen atoms) + Oxide = Dinitrogen Pentoxide (c) \(\mathrm{PH}_{3}\): Phosphorus (P) + Tri- (3 Hydrogen atoms) + Hydride = Phosphorus Trihydride (also called Phosphine) (d) \(\mathrm{CBr}_{4}\): Carbon (C) + Tetra- (4 Bromine atoms) + Bromide = Carbon Tetrabromide (e) \(\mathrm{SO}_{3}\): Sulfur (S) + Tri- (3 Oxygen atoms) + Oxide = Sulfur Trioxide