Lori McGee

Group 1, 2 and 13 have a + charge they are called cations

Group 15, 16, and 17 have a - charge they are called anions

Metal cation retain their elemental name (ex Ca⁺² is called calcium )

Nonmetal anions will end with -ide (ex N-3 is called nitride)

The cation (metal) name goes first

The anion (nonmetal) name ending in -ide goes last

example NaCl

Na is sodium Cl is chlorine

name is sodium chloride

Write the symbol and charge of the metal

write the symbol and charge of the nonmetal

Criss cross to make subscripts.

Reduce the numbers if possible (smallest ratio is always used)

ex Na ⁺¹ S^-2

Crisscross Na₂S₁

only the ratio matters so we reduce when we can

4 and 2 can both be divided by 2 so reduce