Answer:
Rules for naming simple covalent compounds:
1. Name the non-metal furthest to the left on the periodic table by its elemental name.
2. Name the other non-metal by its elemental name and an -ide ending.
3. Use the prefixes mono-, di-, tri-.... to indicate the number of that element in the molecule.
4. If mono is the first prefix, it is understood and not written
Examples:
- N2O4 is called dinitrogen monoxide
- CO2 is called carbon dioxide
- CO is called carbon monoxide
- N2O is called dinitrogen monoxide. (It is also called nitrous oxide but that is another naming scheme.)
- CCl4 is called carbon tetrachloride
Here is a chart of those prefixes:
1 - mono
2 - di
3 - tri
4 - tetra
5 - penta
6 - hexa
7 - hepta
8 - octa
9 - nona
10 - deca
