The first step in naming acids is deciding the type of acid.

Steps for Naming Binary Acids

1. Determine the anion. (The anion can be a single ion or polyatomic ion.) The acid name comes from the root of the anion name.
2. Add the prefix hydro to the beginning of the root and the suffix –ic to the end of the root.
3. Add the word acid.

Let’s look at a couple of examples.

Steps for Naming Oxyacids

When naming oxyacids there is no hydro at the beginning.

1. Determine the anion. These will be polyatomic ions. The acid name comes from the root of the anion name.
2. Determine the suffix to add to the end of the root.
• If the name of the polyatomic anion ends with –ate, change it to –ic in the acid.
• If the name of the polyatomic anion ends with –ite, change it to –ous in the acid.
3. Add the word acid.

Let’s look at a couple of examples.