What is the name of the compound whose formula is $H_{2} S O_{4}$ $H_2SO_4$ ?

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Answer 1 · 2016-05-15T01:21:00

Here's my thought process:

It has hydrogen ions in the front and an anion in the back $\to$ $->$ it's an acid.
Oxygen and sulfur are both more electronegative than hydrogen, so whether hydrogen is bonded to sulfur or oxygen, its common oxidation state is likely $+ 1$ $+1$ .
Since these hydrogen ions have a $+ 1$ $+1$ oxidation state, ${SO}_{4}$ $"SO"_4$ has a $2 -$ $2-$ charge to balance out the charges.
${SO}_{4}^{2 -}$ $"SO"_4^(2-)$ has the anion prefix "sulf".
Since the anion has oxygens, and is a polyatomic ion, it ends in either "-ate" or "-ite". Also, that implies the name does not start with "hydro".
${SO}_{3}^{2 -}$ $"SO"_3^(2-)$ exists, and is called sulfite. "-ate" polyatomic ions usually have more oxygens than "-ite" polyatomic ions. Thus, ${SO}_{4}^{2 -}$ $"SO"_4^(2-)$ is called sulfate.
Recall that "sulfate" $\leftrightarrow$ $harr$ "sulfuric" + acid.

Thus, the name is sulfuric acid.

Common mistakes are:

sulfurous acid ( $H_{2} {SO}_{3}$ $"H"_2"SO"_3$ )
hydrosulfuric acid ( $H_{2} S$ $"H"_2"S"$ )
sulfic acid (nonexistent)
dihydrogen sulfate (it's OK, but not what is expected on a test and you may lose a few points).

Answer 2 · 2016-05-15T08:08:20

Hydrogen + Sulfate ion = Sulfuric Acid.
This is one of the most common laboratory acid.

What is the name of the compound whose formula is H2SO4H_2SO_4?