IONIC AND MOLECULAR COMPOUNDS
a.k.a. IMC
IONICS
To understand ionic compounds, you gotta know your basics. First of all, ionic compounds are composed of oppositely charged ions. Simply put, component particles in ionic compounds are ions, positively and negatively charged particles. Furthermore, when a substance with positive electric charge is brought near a substance with negative electric charge, a force of attraction occurs, such as in marital relations.
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Diagram A) Electrostatic force in action
Diagram B) Marriage in action
When naming ionic compounds, you may refer to your ion chart but it would be better if you actually knew how to perform this easy task. Because this bond is one between a metal a nonmetal, you simply name the ion, making sure to cite the charge it holds. The end product is figured by criss-crossing the charges of each ion. For example Sodium Chloride is NaCl, since Na holds 1+ charge and the Cl a 1- charge. In the same way, combining the ions Al 3+ and NO3 1- results with a Al (NO3)3 by crossing aluminum's 3+ charge and nitrate's 1-. Pretty simple, eh?
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MOLECULARS
Molecular compounds, on the other hand, occur between nonmetals and tend to consist of discrete molecules at a particular level. These structures use covalent bonds when forming, as opposed to the ionic bonds in the ionic compounds. Unlike ionic compounds, these covalent structures have low melting points and weaker attractions, kinda like a marriage that's really not working out. The forces of attraction between these babies are called intermolecular forces.
Molecular compounds are not at all named like the ionic ones. When combining these structures, you are using two nonmetals, as stated above. Therefore, you have to use prefixes to name them. The prefixes are as follows...
1-mono
2-di
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