chemistry65 cardsHigh school and college

Polyatomic ion flashcards

65 free flashcards for the 25 common polyatomic ions: name to formula and charge, and formula to name, checked against OpenStax Chemistry 2e.

Every card checked against the sources below.

Download .txt

What’s in the deck

  • All 25 common ions from OpenStax Chemistry 2e, Table 2.5, each with its charge.
  • Both directions: name to formula and charge, and formula to name.
  • Four extras that common AP and college lists add: oxalate, thiocyanate, thiosulfate and iodate.

Watch out: Some decks online include ions that no course list we found has, like “carbonite”. Every ion here is on a textbook list.

How to study it

  • Learn the rules, then the exceptions: -ite has one oxygen fewer than -ate with the same charge, and four naming rules like it let you work out about half the list.
  • Spread it out over a week rather than one night. The guide to memorizing polyatomic ions has the naming rules, a checked mnemonic and a schedule.

All 65 cards, with answers

  1. 1
    What is the formula and charge of the ammonium ion?
    NH₄⁺
  2. 2
    What is the name of the polyatomic ion NH₄⁺?
    Ammonium
  3. 3
    What is the formula and charge of the hydronium ion?
    H₃O⁺
  4. 4
    What is the name of the polyatomic ion H₃O⁺?
    Hydronium
  5. 5
    What is the formula and charge of the hydroxide ion?
    OH⁻
  6. 6
    What is the name of the polyatomic ion OH⁻?
    Hydroxide
  7. 7
    What is the formula and charge of the cyanide ion?
    CN⁻
  8. 8
    What is the name of the polyatomic ion CN⁻?
    Cyanide
  9. 9
    What is the formula and charge of the nitrate ion?
    NO₃⁻
  10. 10
    What is the name of the polyatomic ion NO₃⁻?
    Nitrate
  11. 11
    What is the formula and charge of the nitrite ion?
    NO₂⁻
  12. 12
    What is the name of the polyatomic ion NO₂⁻?
    Nitrite
  13. 13
    What is the formula and charge of the sulfate ion?
    SO₄²⁻
  14. 14
    What is the name of the polyatomic ion SO₄²⁻?
    Sulfate
  15. 15
    What is the formula and charge of the sulfite ion?
    SO₃²⁻
  16. 16
    What is the name of the polyatomic ion SO₃²⁻?
    Sulfite
  17. 17
    What is the formula and charge of the hydrogen sulfate (bisulfate) ion?
    HSO₄⁻
  18. 18
    What is the name of the polyatomic ion HSO₄⁻?
    Hydrogen sulfate (or bisulfate)
  19. 19
    What is the formula and charge of the hydrogen sulfite (bisulfite) ion?
    HSO₃⁻
  20. 20
    What is the name of the polyatomic ion HSO₃⁻?
    Hydrogen sulfite (or bisulfite)
  21. 21
    What is the formula and charge of the carbonate ion?
    CO₃²⁻
  22. 22
    What is the name of the polyatomic ion CO₃²⁻?
    Carbonate
  23. 23
    What is the formula and charge of the hydrogen carbonate (bicarbonate) ion?
    HCO₃⁻
  24. 24
    What is the name of the polyatomic ion HCO₃⁻?
    Hydrogen carbonate (or bicarbonate)
  25. 25
    What is the formula and charge of the phosphate ion?
    PO₄³⁻
  26. 26
    What is the name of the polyatomic ion PO₄³⁻?
    Phosphate
  27. 27
    What is the formula and charge of the azide ion?
    N₃⁻
  28. 28
    What is the name of the polyatomic ion N₃⁻?
    Azide
  29. 29
    What is the formula and charge of the hydrogen phosphate ion?
    HPO₄²⁻
  30. 30
    What is the name of the polyatomic ion HPO₄²⁻?
    Hydrogen phosphate
  31. 31
    What is the formula and charge of the dihydrogen phosphate ion?
    H₂PO₄⁻
  32. 32
    What is the name of the polyatomic ion H₂PO₄⁻?
    Dihydrogen phosphate
  33. 33
    What is the formula and charge of the acetate ion?
    C₂H₃O₂⁻ (or CH₃COO⁻)
  34. 34
    What is the name of the polyatomic ion C₂H₃O₂⁻?
    Acetate
  35. 35
    What is the formula and charge of the permanganate ion?
    MnO₄⁻
  36. 36
    What is the name of the polyatomic ion MnO₄⁻?
    Permanganate
  37. 37
    What is the formula and charge of the perchlorate ion?
    ClO₄⁻
  38. 38
    What is the name of the polyatomic ion ClO₄⁻?
    Perchlorate
  39. 39
    What is the formula and charge of the chlorate ion?
    ClO₃⁻
  40. 40
    What is the name of the polyatomic ion ClO₃⁻?
    Chlorate
  41. 41
    What is the formula and charge of the chlorite ion?
    ClO₂⁻
  42. 42
    What is the name of the polyatomic ion ClO₂⁻?
    Chlorite
  43. 43
    What is the formula and charge of the hypochlorite ion?
    ClO⁻
  44. 44
    What is the name of the polyatomic ion ClO⁻?
    Hypochlorite
  45. 45
    What is the formula and charge of the chromate ion?
    CrO₄²⁻
  46. 46
    What is the name of the polyatomic ion CrO₄²⁻?
    Chromate
  47. 47
    What is the formula and charge of the dichromate ion?
    Cr₂O₇²⁻
  48. 48
    What is the name of the polyatomic ion Cr₂O₇²⁻?
    Dichromate
  49. 49
    What is the formula and charge of the oxalate ion?
    C₂O₄²⁻
  50. 50
    What is the name of the polyatomic ion C₂O₄²⁻?
    Oxalate
  51. 51
    What is the formula and charge of the peroxide ion?
    O₂²⁻
  52. 52
    What is the name of the polyatomic ion O₂²⁻?
    Peroxide
  53. 53
    What is the formula and charge of the thiocyanate ion?
    SCN⁻
  54. 54
    What is the name of the polyatomic ion SCN⁻?
    Thiocyanate
  55. 55
    What is the formula and charge of the thiosulfate ion?
    S₂O₃²⁻
  56. 56
    What is the name of the polyatomic ion S₂O₃²⁻?
    Thiosulfate
  57. 57
    What is the formula and charge of the iodate ion?
    IO₃⁻
  58. 58
    What is the name of the polyatomic ion IO₃⁻?
    Iodate
  59. 59
    In oxyanion nomenclature, the suffix _____ indicates one fewer oxygen atom than the suffix -ate.
    -ite
  60. 60
    In oxyanion nomenclature, the suffix -ite indicates one fewer oxygen atom than the suffix _____.
    -ate
  61. 61
    The prefix _____ designates an oxyanion with one more oxygen atom than the standard -ate ion.
    per-
  62. 62
    The prefix _____ designates an oxyanion with one fewer oxygen atom than the corresponding -ite ion.
    hypo-
  63. 63
    Adding a proton (H+) to a polyatomic oxyanion increases its overall charge by _____.
    +1
  64. 64
    The prefix _____ in an ion name indicates that an oxygen atom has been replaced by a sulfur atom.
    thio-
  65. 65
    Among common polyatomic ions, _____ (NH₄⁺) is the most widely encountered polyatomic cation.
    ammonium

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learn it before you drill it

The guide behind this deck: the full list, the tricks that make it stick and a schedule.

memorize it

How to memorize the polyatomic ions (without memorizing every one)

The 25 common polyatomic ions with formulas and charges, the four naming rules that let you work out half of them, a mnemonic, and a free deck to drill them.

65 flashcards5 min

Checked against

  1. Chemistry 2e, 2.6 Ionic and Molecular Compounds (Table 2.5, Common Polyatomic Ions), OpenStax
  2. Nomenclature mnemonic for remembering 'ates' (PDF), Missouri University of Science and Technology
  3. Polyatomic ions, CH 121, Oregon State University
  4. AP Chemistry Exam Reference Information (PDF), College Board
  5. AP Chemistry Course and Exam Description (PDF), College Board
  6. Distributed Practice in Verbal Recall Tasks (Cepeda et al., 2006), Psychological Bulletin
  7. Improving Students' Learning With Effective Learning Techniques (Dunlosky et al., 2013), Psychological Science in the Public Interest

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