化学专业英语电子版2.docVIP

Chapter 2 Nomenclature of Inorganic Chemistry 2.1 Chemical Language The subjects of naming chemical substances, or chemical nomenclature, and writing chemical “equations” are basic to communication in the society of chemists. The language of chemistry has evolved and improved with the understanding of chemical principles. For this reason, an understanding of chemical language in not only useful for communicating, but reflects an underlying understanding of the concepts of chemistry. The ability to name common chemical compounds is absolutely essential for success in a general chemistry course. Chemical language is similar to other human languages, with element symbols forming the alphabet, chemical formulas the words, chemical equations the sentences and multistep chemical processes the paragraphs. Commercial production processes are chapters in the story of chemistry. Genetics, pollution and disease comprise entire volumes. Abbreviations and phonemes are (unfortunately) extensively used also, particularly in areas where long, complicated names are found, such as organic chemistry and biochemistry. Story setting corresponds to the reaction conditions, and plot development to reaction yields and pathways. We shall explore a number of chemical grammars and show how to solve simple problems related to structure and nomenclature. Unfortunately, partly due to historical precedent and partly due to conceptual limitations, there is no ultimate chemical language which describes uniquely everything known about a material, including molecular structure and chemical properties, and it may be assumed that chemical concepts yet to be discovered will lead to new ways of describing that knowledge. For this reason, several different systems of terminology are in use today, each with advantages and disadvantages. The best we can do here is to introduce a few communication methods students are likely to encounter in introductory courses. 2.2 Nomenclature of Elements 2.2.1 Chemical S