Because many ions and compounds have very similar names, there is great potential for confusing them. Write the correct chemical formulas to distinguish between (a) calcium sulfide and calcium hydrogen sulfide, (b) hydrobromic acid and bromic acid, (c) aluminum nitride and aluminum nitrite, (d) iron(ll) oxide and iron(lll) oxide, (e) ammonia and ammonium ion, (f) potassium sulfite and potassium bisulfite, (g) mercurous chloride and mercuric chloride, (h) chloric acid and perchloric acid.
Solution : Here we have to write the chemical name for the given compounds so that we could distinguish between the names: Step 1: (a) calcium sulfide and calcium hydrogen sulfide: There are 2 compounds : 2+ 1) Calcium sulfide - This compound is made up of Calcium ion(Ca ), it is a metal ion and is a cation and sulfide ion(S ) ion which is a anion. Here charges of both the ions are equal and gets neutralized. Hence, the chemical formula of the given compound is CaS. 2+ 2) Calcium Hydrogen Sulfide - This compound is made up of Calcium ion(Ca ), it is a metal ion and is a cation and hydrogen sulfide ion(HS) ion which is a anion. Here charges of both the ions are not equal hence, charge of one ion becomes subscript of another ion and thus, the chemical formula of the given compound is Ca(HS) . 2
