| Cations (charges predictable from periodic table) |
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| Group IA | +1 | Group IIA | +2 | Group IIIA | +3 |
| hydrogen | H+ | ||||
| lithium | Li+ | berylium | Be+2 | ||
| sodium | Na+ | magnesium | Mg+2 | aluminum | Al+3 |
| potasium | K+ | calcium | Ca+2 | ||
| rubidium | Rb+ | strontium | Sr+2 | ||
| cesium | Cs+ | barium | Ba+2 | ||
| radium | Ra+2 | ||||
| Do not forget the Ammonium ion: NH4+! | |||||
| Transition Metal Cations (charges not easily predictable from periodic table) |
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| Ions with a +1 charge | Copper (I) | Cu+ | Silver | Ag+ | Note that the (I) is generally omitted since silver ions always have a charge of +1. |
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| Gold (I) | Au+ | Mercury (I) | Hg2+2 | Note that mercury (I) always has two mercury atoms and a +2 charge. The charge per atom is +1. |
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| Thalium (I) | Tl+ | |||||
| Ions with a +2 charge | Cadmium (II) | Cd+2 | Chromium (II) | Cr+2 | Cobalt (II) | Co+2 |
| Copper (II) | Cu+2 | Iron (II) | Fe+2 | Lead (II) | Pb+2 | |
| Mercury (II) | Hg+2 | Nickel (II) | Ni+2 | Tin (II) | Sn+2 | |
| Manganese (II) | Mn+2 | Zinc | Zn+2 | The (II) is usually omitted since Zn+2 is the only common ionic form of zinc. |
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| Ions with a +3 charge | Antimony (III) | Sb+3 | Bismuth (III) | Bi+3 | Cerium (III) | Ce+3 |
| Chromium (III) | Cr+3 | Cobalt (III) | Co+3 | Gold (III) | Au+3 | |
| Iron (III) | Fe+3 | Thalium (III) | Tl+3 | Titanium (III) | Ti+3 | |
| Vanadium (III) | V+3 | |||||
| Ions with a +4 charge | Cerium (IV) | Ce+4 | Tin (IV) | Sn+4 | Titanium (IV) | Ti+4 |
| Anions (charges predictable from periodic table) |
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| Group VA | -3 | Group VIA | -2 | Group VIIA | -1 |
| nitride | N-3 | oxide | O-2 | fluoride | F-1 |
| phosphide | P-3 | sulfide | S-2 | chloride | Cl- |
| selenide | Se-2 | bromide | Br- | ||
| iodide | I- | ||||
| Inorganic Polyatomic Anions | ||||||
| Arsenate | AsO4-3 | Arsenite | AsO3-3 | Note the change from -ate to -ite. | ||
| Borate | BO3-3 | Bromate There are several comon oxyanions of bromine! | BrO3- | Carbonate | CO3-2 | |
| Hydrogen Carbonate (or bicarbonate) | HCO3- | Chromate | CrO4-2 | Dichromate | Cr2O7-2 | |
| Cyanide | CN- | Cyanate | CNO- | Chlorate There are several comon oxyanions of chlorine! | ClO3- | |
| Hydroxide | OH- | Iodate There are several comon oxyanions of iodine! | IO3- | Nitrate | NO3- | |
| Manganate | MnO4-2 | Permanganate | MnO4- | Note the addition of the per- prefix. | ||
| Peroxide | O2-2 | Sulfate | SO4-2 | Hydrogensulfate (or bisulfate) | HSO4- | |
| Thiocynate | SCN- | Thiosulfate | S2O3-2 | Note the replacement of an oxygen atom with a sulfur atom for thio- prefix. |
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| Phosphate | PO4-3 | Hydrogenhosphate | HPO4-2 | Dihydrogenhosphate | H2PO4- | |
| Note the addition of an H+ ion and the corresponding reduction of the negative charge. | ||||||
| Organic Polyatomic Anions | ||||||
| Acetate | C2H3O2- | Benzoate | C7H6O2- | Citrate | C6H5O7-3 | |
| Laurate | C12H23O2- | Oxalate | C2O4-2 | Sterate | C18H35O2- | |
Note: This page is meant only as a starting point. You must learn the names and formulae of these ions! This is the vocabulary of chemistry. Without knowing the vocabulary, you can not communicate. I highly suggest you read through and work the questions found on the "naming anions" page! For example, you will be expected to know how to name all of the common -ate, -ite, per-ate and hypo-ite ions as well as their corresponding acids! (Now how much would you pay?)