The correct name for Al2O3 is aluminum oxide dialuminum oxide dialuminum trioxide aluminum hydroxide aluminum trioxide
The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
The correct name for Al₂O₃ is aluminum oxide.
Here’s an explanation of why that is the correct name:
- Aluminum refers to the metal in the compound. The symbol “Al” comes from the periodic table, where aluminum is a metal with an atomic number of 13.
- Oxide refers to the oxygen component in the compound. Oxygen has the symbol “O” and typically forms compounds by combining with other elements, such as aluminum, in a ratio that satisfies the chemical bonding rules.
- Naming Rules: According to the IUPAC (International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry) naming conventions:
- When naming a compound made of a metal and oxygen, the metal is named first, followed by “oxide” for the oxygen.
- The subscript in the formula (2 for Al and 3 for O in Al₂O₃) indicates how many atoms of each element are in the compound. In this case, there are two aluminum atoms for every three oxygen atoms.
The other options listed are incorrect for the following reasons:
- Dialuminum oxide and dialuminum trioxide are incorrect because “di-” indicates a two-atom ratio, but Al₂O₃ contains two aluminum atoms and three oxygen atoms, not two of each.
- Aluminum hydroxide refers to a different compound (Al(OH)₃) that includes hydroxide ions (OH⁻), which is not the case in Al₂O₃.
- Aluminum trioxide would be incorrect since it’s not a standard way to name an oxide and may cause confusion, as the compound is typically referred to as “aluminum oxide.”
Thus, aluminum oxide is the correct and standardized name for Al₂O₃.
