Naming binary acids

Acids are hydrogen-containing compounds that yield hydrogen ions (H⁺) in water. Binary acids are acids that consist of two elements, one of the elements hydrogen-containing compounds. As the pure compound (ie - in the gaseous or liquid state), they have different properties than they do in aqueous solution of the compound. The rules for naming the acid as the pure compound is different for naming the acid in aqueous solution.

Rules for naming binary acids:

1. As the pure compound (ie - in the gaseous or liquid state),
   • start with 'hydrogen'
   • follow by the anion name ending in '-ide'.
2. As aqueous acid solutions,
   • start with 'hydro-'.
   • change the anion name to end with '-ic'.
   • add the word 'acid' at the end.

Example

	Name of the Pure Compound	Name of the Acid in Aqueous solution
HBr	hydrogen bromide	hydrobromic acid
HF	hydrogen fluoride	hydrofluoric acid
H2S	hydrogen sulfide	hydrosulfuric acid

Content suitability

BCIT courses: CHEM 0011