Watch the recordings here on Youtube! 7. As with ionic compounds, the system for naming covalent compounds enables chemists to write the molecular formula from the name and vice versa. Another system of naming is needed. Remember, ionic compounds are metal combined with a non-metal. A binary covalent compound is composed of two different nonmetal elements. RULES FOR NAMING COVALENT COMPOUNDS 1. The LibreTexts libraries are Powered by MindTouch® and are supported by the Department of Education Open Textbook Pilot Project, the UC Davis Office of the Provost, the UC Davis Library, the California State University Affordable Learning Solutions Program, and Merlot. Write the name of each binary covalent compound. According to naming rules, the types of compound that use prefixes in their names are (C) polyatomic ions. What are the prefixes in naming covalent compounds? Don’t worry about it too much, right now. The element with the lower group number is written first in the name; the element with the higher group number is written second in the name. Legal. Second, look at the subscript of each element to determine which prefix to use. , Naming Covalent Compounds   Naming Binary Ionic Compounds  Polyatomic Ions Naming with Polyatomic Ions  Naming with Roman Numerals  Formula Writing  Naming Acids. Covalent compounds have a completely different naming system than ionic compounds. ” mono-” indicates one, “di-” indicates two, “tri-” is three, “tetra-” is four, “penta-” is five, and “hexa-” is six, “hepta-” is seven, “octo-” is eight, “nona-” is nine, and “deca” is ten. Binary covalent compounds—that is, covalent compounds that contain only two elements—are named using a procedure similar to that used to name simple ionic compounds, but prefixes are added as needed to indicate the number of atoms of each kind.The procedure, diagrammed in Figure 6.1.1, uses the following steps: