General Naming and Formula Writing Strategy

1. General naming strategy
   1. Determine if the formula depicts an ionic compound (metal and nonmetal), a molecular compound (two nonmetals), or an acid (begins with hydrogen).
   2. If ionic, determine the names of the ions and write the name putting the metal first.
   3. If molecular, determine the names of the nonmetals and add the appropriate prefixes before writing the name.
   4. If an acid, it is either in the form hydro-______-ic acid or it is one of the ones you memorized.
2. General formula writing strategy
   1. Determine if the name depicts an ionic compound (metal and nonmetal), a molecular compound (two nonmetals), or an acid (has the word acid in its name).
   2. If ionic, determine the charges on the ions and write a formula that will yield a neutral compound.
   3. If molecular, write a formula using the prefixes in the name to determine the subscripts in the formula.
   4. If an acid, then it is either one of the ones you memorized or it's H__. (hydrogen followed by some single element)