Acids and Bases Nomenclature

Acids are named by the anion they form when dissolved in water. Depending on what anion the hydrogen is attached to, acids will have different names.Simple acids, known as binary acids, have only one anion and one hydrogen. These anions usually have the ending "-ide." As acids, these compounds are named starting with the prefix "hydro-," then adding the first syllable of the anion, then the suffix "-ic." For example, HCl, which is hydrogen and chlorine, is called hydrochloric acid.

Strong bases with "-OH" (hydroxide) groups are named like ionic compounds. Weak bases are named like molecular compounds or organic compounds.Most strong bases contain hydroxide, a polyatomic ion. Therefore, strong bases are named following the rules for naming ionic compounds. For example, NaOH is sodium hydroxide, KOH is potassium hydroxide, and Ca(OH)2 is calcium hydroxide. Weak bases made of ionic compounds are also named using the ionic naming system. For example, NH4OH is ammonium hydroxide.Weak bases are also sometimes molecular compounds or organic compounds because they have covalent bonds. Therefore, they are named following the rules for molecular or organic compounds. For example, methyl amine (CH3NH2) is a weak base. Some weak bases have "common" names. For example, NH3 is called ammonia; its name isn't derived from any naming system.

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