SAT II Chemistry : Naming Compounds
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Example Questions
Example Question #2 : Compounds And Molecules
Which of the following is the correct name of 
Nitrogen monoxide
Nitrogen dioxide
Dinitrogen tetraoxide
Dinitrogen monoxide
Dinitrogen pentoxide
Dinitrogen tetraoxide
In order to answer the question, it is important to first determine what kind of bonding is occurring in order to properly name the molecule. When nitrogen and oxygen form an
Because a covalent bond is formed, we can determine that name of the molecule will be based on number of each atom in the molecule. There are two nitrogen atoms in the resulting molecule, so the prefix in front of the "nitrogen" part of the name will be "di-," meaning two. There are four oxygen atoms in the resulting molecule, so the prefix in front of the "oxygen" part of the name will be "tetra," meaning four.
The molecules names will be arranged alphabetically, and the second atom will have "-ide" as the suffix. Therefore, the correct answer is "dinitrogen tetroxide."
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