Mineral Acids – Common Oxy Acid Terminology
As a youngster, I decided to become a chemist when I grew up. And that is how it turned out. To become acquainted with my chosen profession, I had to learn its naming systems or nomenclature. This included the naming of common mineral acids. So called mineral acids contain hydrogen, at least one additional element (often from the right hand side of the periodic table), and varying amounts of oxygen. Mineral Acids with No Oxygen If no oxygen is present, the acid name usually employs the prefix hydro– and the suffix –ic. Thus HCl is named hydrochloric acid.¹ HBr is hydrobromic acid. Some other examples include hydrogen sulfide (H₂S), hydrogen iodide (HI), and hydrogen telluride (H₂Te). A little confusion arises when the element has a valence greater than -2, as…