Procedures for Writing Formulas and Naming Compounds
Patrick E. McMahon, Rosemary F. McMahon, Bohdan B. Khomtchouk · 2019
The atoms in chemical compounds are bonded together through either ionic or covalent bonding. An ionic bond is an attractive electromagnetic (electrostatic) force between ions of opposite charge. Ions are produced by an exchange of electrons between atoms such that one atom has a surplus of electrons (negative charge) and one atom has a deficiency of electrons (positive charge). A valid binary ionic compound consists of one metal atom, which has formed a positive ion by loss of electron(s), plus one non-metal/metalloid atom, which has formed a negative ion by gain of electron(s). The positive and negative ions must be combined in the specific combining ratio to produce neutrality (a neutral compound). The names of binary ionic compounds are derived from the (adapted) names of the elements contained in the compound and the final resulting formula.