We are naming compounds.  My teacher wanted us to write formula for nitrogen tetroxide.  I thought an N around 4 O's did not look right, so I looked it up and did not find this.  And according to what you say there is no NO4 - but that is what she thought it should be.  So I guess she was wrong.  It is confusing because it was from an actual test she gave to her class last year (our practice test this year).

 

Also you said,  """H2S should properly be called dihydrogen sulfide.""" That would be the gas or other non aqueous form.

 

In water this would be hydrosulfuric acid right?

 

Also how do you know when to treat H as a metal or non metal when naming compounds?  This can make a difference in naming the compound as an ion or a molecule.  Like H2O2 it is hydrogen peroxide so H must be a metal  otherwise it would be dihydrogen dioxide.  And then you have MgH2 where H acts as an anion.  Are there any other things to watch out for when naming?

 

One more thing - do semi-metals follow any pattern?   Do most semi-metals and non-metals, when combined, make molecular compounds?

 

Thanks

JB