List the steps in naming covalent compounds.

1.       Name the non-metal furthest to the left on the periodic table by its elemental name.

2.       Name the other non-metal by its elemental name and an -ide ending.

3.       Use the prefixes mono-, di-, tri- to indicate the number of that element in the molecule.

4.       If mono is the first prefix, it is understood and not written

Rules for naming simple covalent compounds:

1.    Name the non-metal furthest to the left on the periodic table by its elemental name.

2.   Name the other non-metal by its elemental name and an -ide ending.

3.    Use the prefixes mono-, di-, tri- to indicate the number of that element in the molecule.

4.  If mono is the first prefix, it is understood and not written

Examples:

Here is a chart of those prefixes:

1 - mono

2 - di

3 - tri

4 - tetra

5 - penta

6 - hexa

7 - hepta

8 - octa

9 - nona

10 - deca