Naming Compounds Part II (featuring covalent and acid)

Today's class was no doubt fantastic. We started out the day with the wonderful news that the test has been moved back one day. The test is now on Friday, October 15. After the news had been bestowed upon us, we reviewed polyatomic ions, at the request of Ben. Polyatomic ions are groups of atoms that may carry a charge. Just a reminder, these are the six polyatomic ions we are supposed to know:

OH(^-) hydroxide
NH4(^+) ammonium
NO3(^-) nitrate
CO3(^2-) carbonate
PO4(^3-) phosphate
SO4(2-) sulfate
SORRY I DIDN'T GET THE FORMAT RIGHT. I TRIED MY BEST!

From there, we jumped right into the lesson. Today's lesson was a continuation of naming compounds. However, instead of naming ionic compounds, we named covalent compounds and acids. First, the covalent compounds. Here are a list of characteristics covalent compounds possess.

1) The suffix of the second word is -ide
2) Covalent compounds are comprised of nonmetals (and metalloids, on occasion)
3) The second word always contains a Greek prefix
4) The charges do not have to balance (which is awesome.)

According to Mr. Lieberman, covalent compounds are, "easier than ionic compounds because you don't have to balance all of that mumbo-jumbo..." That was pure insight. Incredibly whimsical.

To name a covalent compound, do the following:
1st word: Use prefix if there is more than one subscript number. If not, keep the same
2nd word: Always use prefix, and change suffix to -ide.
On a side note, there are no polyatomics (Prodigious!!!)

Here are a few examples of naming covalent compounds:
SiO2: silicon dioxide
NO2: nitrogen dioxide
S2Cl2: disulfur dichloride
PCl3: Phosphorous trichloride

Covalent compounds are also referred to as Binary Molecular Compounds. Unlike ionic compounds, there is no simple way to deduce the formula of a binary molecular compound. That being said, acids will be deciphered now...

Here are a couple characteristics of Acids:
1) Acids all start with H (Water is the only exception; it is not an acid)
2) Acids must be in water

To name an acid, just do the following:
IF THE ANION DOES NOT CONTAIN OXYGEN:
Change ending to "ic" and add prefix hydro
For example:
HF- Hydrofluoric acid
HCl- Hydrochloric acid
IF THE ANION CONTAINS OXYGEN:
- "ate" becomes "ic"
-H4SO4: sulfuric acid
- "ite" becomes "ous"
-HNO2: nitrous acid
To remember this, think of the joke: I'm coming down with a bad case of ateic iteous (I get it now Mr. Lieberman)

Then, we were done naming these compounds!!! After the lesson, we all took whiteboards; markers; and paper towels, and practiced naming compounds some more.

Then all of a sudden, amidst the rage and excitement, the bell rang. We proceeded to put our supplies away in a neat and orderly manner, and exited the classroom.

The next scribe is... Ben Ach!!! (no me grites)