COMPOUNDS

5.8 - Chemical Formulas for Ionic compounds

5.8.2 - Writing Formulas for compounds containing polyatomic ions

Follow these simple steps to write chemical formulas for ionic compounds containing polyatomic ions.

Click on and find the icon to learn the names, formulas and charges from the list of polyatomic ions for this course.

Write the chemical formula involving strontium and nitrate

Step 1:	Write the symbols (including charge) of the cation and anion, with the cation listed first.
Step 2:	Determine the smallest number of each kind of ion needed to give an overall charge of zero.
Step 3:	Write the chemical formula, using the appropriate subscripts to make the compound neutral in charge.

Section 6.9
Writing Formulas ..p147

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