Question

can some one explain when to use ite and ate at the end of a compound. for example sodium phosphite, or sodium nitrate.

Answer 1

This is referring to oxyanions I believe in polyatomic ions. When they form a bond the one with less oxygen is given a name ending in -ite and the one with more oxgyen is given a name that ends in -ate.

Answer 2

For instance, NO\(_2\)\(^-\) is \(\sf \color{red}{nitrtite}\), whilst NO\(_3\)\(^-\) is \(\sf \color{blue}{nitrate}\)

Answer 3

Basically, there's ions called poly-atomic ions, which for the most part behave like normal non-metals when bonding (except for ammonium), which have their own special names like cyanide and nitrate. For just a single elemental ion, you would just end it in '-ide'.

Answer 4

hmmm. so how can i tell which oxygen ion is the ite, or ate if on a test its NO2 for example

Answer 5

Oh, if you don't have like a table of them, refer to @abb0t 's answer.

Answer 6

yes

Answer 7

because i oxygen has a single charge of -2
so how can i know when to put -3 or -2?

Answer 8

There is a list I'm sure in your book which has a list of the common polyatomic ions that are commonly used in chemistry. You should focus on those and simply memorize their name and formula.

But just remember the rule I mentioned above and you should be fine.

Answer 9

Unless you are familiar with lewis dot structures and bonding, all you can do at this point in time is memorize them w/o really understanding whether they carry a +/- charge.

Answer 10

thanks

Answer 11

Here is a table that you can use to memorize nomenclature. These are the most commonly used polyatomic ions that chemistry professors expect you to know on an exam and for future chemistry courses if you go beyond basic chemistry.

Answer 12

thanks Man!!!