Question

How are covalent compounds named?

Answer 1

The compound which contains two elements is considered as a binary covalent compound. In the naming of covalent compounds the number of the atom is denoted by the prefix mono-, di-, tri- and so on.

Complete step by step answer:
The covalent compounds are defined as those compounds where the atoms are bonded with each other by covalent bond.
The binary covalent compounds are considered as those compounds which contain only two elements. The naming of the covalent compound is done by the following steps.
(1) Place the elements in their proper order.
(a) The element present farthest to the left in the periodic table is named first. When both the elements belong to the same group, the element which is closer to the bottom of the column is named first.
(b) The second element is named as a monatomic anion with suffix –ide which is present at the root of the element name.
(2) Identify the number of each type of atom.
(a) The prefix present in the chemical element helps to determine the number and type of atom in the formula. The prefixes like mono- di- tri- tetra are used.
(b) When the molecule contains more than one atom on both elements, then the prefix is used for both the elements.
(3) Write the name of the compound
The binary compound with one element oxygen is termed as oxide where the prefix denotes the number of atoms. Example CO is named carbon monoxide.

Note:
Some chemical compounds are named by the named which are assigned long ago like ${H_2}O$ is named as water not dihydrogen oxide, $N{H_3}$ is named as ammonia, $P{H_3}$ is named as phosphine.