NAMING COMPOUNDS

6.3 - Hydrates

A crystalline compound that contains chemically bound water molecules in definite proportions is called a hydrate. Greek prefixes are used to indicate the number of water molecules in the formula unit.

Rules for naming hydrates:

1. Name the anhydrous salt. Again, determine whether the metal in the anhydrous salt is one that is fixed ionic charge or variable charge.
2. Name the metal, following the rules in naming for:
   • metal with fixed ionic charge, or
   • metal with variable charge
3. Name the chemically bound water molecules with the word 'hydrate' with the appropriate Greek prefix to indicate the number of water molecules in the formula unit.

Let's apply the above rules and name the above examples. Click on each formula to check the name of each compound.

Back

Next