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Writing Chemical Formulas for Ionic Compounds. The Crisscross Method. Essential Question. How do I correctly write chemical formulas for ionic compounds?. What information do I need?. Binary Compounds Charges (Oxidation Numbers) Compounds with more than two elements
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Writing Chemical Formulas for Ionic Compounds The Crisscross Method
Essential Question • How do I correctly write chemical formulas for ionic compounds?
What information do I need? • Binary Compounds • Charges (Oxidation Numbers) • Compounds with more than two elements • Charge of the Polyatomic ion
Process for Writing Binary Chemical Formulas for Ionic Compounds • The element or polyatomic ion with the positive oxidation number (cation) is written first. • The element with the negative oxidation number (anion) goes second. • Crisscross the absolute values of the oxidation numbers. Cl-1 Ca+2 1 2 CaCl2
Let’s Practice! Try writing the formula for a compound made from aluminum and sulfur. Al+3 S-2 Al2S3 2 3 Try writing the formula for a compound made from titanium and oxygen. Ti+4 O-2 Ti2O4 2 4 This last one is not quite right!
Now What Did We Do Wrong! • For ionic compounds, when subscripts are not in their simplest form, divide them through by their common multiple to get the empirical formula. TiO2 Ti2O4 Empirical formulas show the simplest ratio of the elements in a compound. Molecular formulas show the actual number of atoms in a molecule. (Covalent compounds only)
Process for Writing Non-binary Ionic Formulas • Some of the most common non-binary compounds include a polyatomic ion. • Polyatomic ions are ions that are made up of more than one element. Examples are: SO4-2 Sulfate OH -1 Hydroxide
Writing Formulas with Polyatomic Ions • The method for writing formulas that include polyatomic ions is similar to the one for writing binary formulas. • Let’s write the formula for a compound made of Cu+2 and CO3-2. Cu+2 CO3-2 2 2 Taking it to its simplest form CuCO3
Let’s Try Another! • Write the formula for a compound of Al+3 and SO4-2. Al+3 SO4-2 2 3 Al2SO43 The 3 and 4 together make this formula confusing. There must be something more!
The Answer is Parentheses! • When you have more than one polyatomic ion in a formula, you must place parentheses around it. Al2SO43 ( ) Al2 SO4 3 This formula shows that the compound is made up of 2 aluminum atoms and 3 sulfate polyatomic ions.
Conclusion • Writing ionic chemical formulas is easy! All you have to do is