What is the correct systematic name for the compound with the formula N2S3?
Group of answer choices
a. nitrogen(III) sulfide
b. nitrogen trisulfide
c. dinitrogen trisulfide
d. nitrogen sulfide
The Correct Answer and Explanation is :
The correct answer is c. dinitrogen trisulfide.
Explanation:
To determine the systematic name of a chemical compound, we need to follow the rules set by the IUPAC (International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry) for naming molecular compounds, which are usually covalent compounds made up of two nonmetals.
In this case, the compound has the formula N₂S₃. Here’s how we break it down:
- Count the atoms of each element:
- There are 2 nitrogen (N) atoms.
- There are 3 sulfur (S) atoms.
- Prefix for nitrogen (N):
- In molecular naming, we use prefixes to indicate the number of atoms of each element in the compound. The prefix for 2 nitrogen atoms is “di-“.
- Prefix for sulfur (S):
- The prefix for 3 sulfur atoms is “tri-“.
- Naming the compound:
- We name the compound by combining the prefixes for nitrogen and sulfur along with the element names. For nitrogen, we use “nitrogen” and for sulfur, we use “sulfide”.
- Systematic name:
- The systematic name, using the prefixes and element names, is dinitrogen trisulfide (which corresponds to option c).
Why not the other options?
- a. nitrogen(III) sulfide: This name implies that nitrogen has a +3 oxidation state, but the compound N₂S₃ doesn’t correspond to nitrogen in the +3 state. It’s more common for nitrogen to have an oxidation state of -3, +1, or +2 in such compounds.
- b. nitrogen trisulfide: This is not the correct systematic name because it doesn’t use prefixes to indicate the number of atoms of each element.
- d. nitrogen sulfide: This is a very generic name and doesn’t specify the exact composition of the compound, so it’s incomplete.
Thus, the correct systematic name for N₂S₃ is dinitrogen trisulfide.