How to Name Acids: Examples and Practice

A guide to naming acids using a simple flowchart, common ion table, and lots of examples and practice.

To name acids we need to determine if it is a binary acid (two different elements) or and oxyacid (three different elements, one of which is oxygen).

Learn how to name and write chemical formulas at www.breslyn.org/chemistry/naming.

For binary acids we put the prefix “Hydro” in front, take the stem of negative ion, and then add “ide”. For example HCl, made up of hydrogen and chlorine, becomes Hydrochloric acid.

For oxyacids we don’t use “Hydro”. We first look the polyatomic ion up on a Common Ion Table (link below). If the ion ends in “ate” we change the “ate” to “ic” and add the word acid. For example, HNO3 is made up of hydrogen and the nitrate ion. The acid is named Nitric acid.

For oxyacids with a polyatomic ion that ends in “ite” we change the “ite” to “ous”. So HNO2, made up of hydrogen and the nitrite ion, becomes Nitrous acid.

For a Common Ion Table visit:
breslyn.org/chemistry/naming/resources/common_i…