SAT II Chemistry : Naming Compounds

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SAT II Chemistry

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Example Questions

Example Question #1 : Compounds

Which of the following is the correct name of ?

Possible Answers:

Nitrogen monoxide

Nitrogen dioxide

Dinitrogen monoxide

Dinitrogen tetraoxide

Dinitrogen pentoxide 

Correct answer:

Dinitrogen tetraoxide

Explanation:

In order to answer the question, it is important to first determine what kind of bonding is occurring in order to properly name the molecule. When nitrogen and oxygen form an  molecule, electrons are shared between the atoms, so a covalent bond is formed.

Because a covalent bond is formed, we can determine that name of the molecule will be based on number of each atom in the molecule. There are two nitrogen atoms in the resulting molecule, so the prefix in front of the "nitrogen" part of the name will be "di-," meaning two. There are four oxygen atoms in the resulting molecule, so the prefix in front of the "oxygen" part of the name will be "tetra," meaning four.

The molecules names will be arranged alphabetically, and the second atom will have "-ide" as the suffix. Therefore, the correct answer is "dinitrogen tetroxide."

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