Question

names of molecular compounds
nonmetals can combine in different ratios to form binary molecular
compounds. for example, carbon and oxygen can combine to form co and
co₂. these compounds have very different properties—co is poisonous,
while you exhale co₂. rather than calling both compounds carbon oxide,
prefixes are used in the name to indicate the number of atoms of each
element in a molecule. if just one atom of the first element is in the formula,
the prefix mono- is omitted for that element. also, the vowel at the end
of a prefix is sometimes dropped when the name of the element begins
with a vowel. for example, tetroxide (instead of tetraoxide) is used for a
compound with four oxygen atoms.
prefixes molecules of co have a different number of oxygen atoms
than molecules of co₂. prefixes in the names of these molecular
compounds indicate how they differ from each other. the steps
show how to name these compounds.
prefixes used in naming
binary molecular compounds
step 1 write the names in the order they
co
co₂
carbon oxygen
carbon o
step 2 use prefixes to indicate the num
type of atom. do not add the mono- pre
first element.
carbon monoxygen
carbon
step 3 change the ending of the secc
so that it ends in -ide.
carbon monoxide
carbo
30 sep use models chlorine and oxygen form many different
compounds, including clo₂ and cl₂o₃. how do the names of these
compounds differentiate one chlorine oxide from another?

Explanation:

According to the naming rules for binary molecular compounds:

• For \(ClO_{2}\):
• Step 1: The elements are chlorine and oxygen.
• Step 2: There is 1 chlorine atom (prefix "mono -" is omitted for the first element) and 2 oxygen atoms (prefix "di -").
• Step 3: Change the ending of oxygen to "-ide". So it is named chlorine dioxide.
• For \(Cl_{2}O_{3}\):
• Step 1: The elements are chlorine and oxygen.
• Step 2: There are 2 chlorine atoms (prefix "di -") and 3 oxygen atoms (prefix "tri -").
• Step 3: Change the ending of oxygen to "-ide". So it is named dichlorine trioxide.

The names differentiate the compounds by using prefixes to indicate the number of each type of atom in the molecule.

Answer:

The compound \(ClO_{2}\) is named chlorine dioxide (1 chlorine atom - no prefix for first element, 2 oxygen atoms - "di -" prefix) and \(Cl_{2}O_{3}\) is named dichlorine trioxide (2 chlorine atoms - "di -" prefix, 3 oxygen atoms - "tri -" prefix). The prefixes in their names show the different ratios of chlorine and oxygen atoms in each compound, thus differentiating one chlorine oxide from the other.