The compound ncl3 is nitrogen trichloride, but alcl3 is simply aluminum chloride. why? check all that apply. check all that apply. the compound alcl3 is an ionic compound (metal and nonmetal), and therefore does not require prefixes\-âso alcl3 is aluminum chloride. ncl3 is a molecular compound (two or more nonmetals), and therefore in its name prefixes indicate the number of each type of atom\-âso ncl3 is nitrogen trichloride. alcl3 is a molecular compound (two or more nonmetals), and therefore in its name prefixes indicate the number of each type of atom\-âso alcl3 is aluminum chloride. the compound ncl3 is an ionic compound (metal and nonmetal), and therefore does not require prefixes\-âso ncl3 is nitrogen trichloride. none of the above.

Answers are: 
The compound AlCl3 is an ionic compound (metal and nonmetal), and therefore does not require prefixes\-−so AlCl3 is aluminum chloride.
NCl3 is a molecular compound (two or more nonmetals), and therefore in its name prefixes indicate the number of each type of atom\-−so NCl3 is nitrogen trichloride.
Nitrogen has different oxidation numbers, in this compound it has +3 and chlorine has -1, compound must have neutral charge.

The compound   is an ionic compound (metal and nonmetal) and therefore does not require prefixes so   is aluminum chloride.

is a molecular compound (two or more nonmetals), and therefore in its name prefixes indicate the number of each type of atom so

is nitrogen trichloride.

FURTHER EXPLANATIONBinary Ionic Compound NomenclatureIonic compounds are compounds made up  of metals and nonmetals. Metals are elements that readily lose valence electrons and form positively charged ions called cations. Nonmetals are atoms that readily gain electrons and form negatively charged ions called anions.The electrostatic attraction between these oppositely charged ions pulls and holds them together forming the ionic compound.The compound is named based on the name of the cation and anion that it is made of.The cation name is simply the name of the metal element plus the word ion.The anion name is the first or first two syllables of the name of the nonmetal element plus the suffix -ide.Example: KCl  

                        cation name: potassium ion

                        anion name: chloride

                        compound name: potassium chloride

Covalent (Molecular) Compound NomenclatureMolecular compounds are a group of nonmetal elements that are sharing their electrons for stability. They are named by using prefixes that correspond to their subscripts (how many atoms of the element is present in the molecule).The prefixes include:

        mono - 1                         hexa - 6

        di - 2                               hepta - 7

        tri - 3                               octa - 8

        tetra - 4                           nona - 9

        penta - 5                         deca - 10

The prefix mono- is never written for the first element of a covalent compound but may be used for the second or succeeding elements (e.g. CO is carbon monoxide NOT monocarbon monoxide).Example:              

                        no. of carbon atom = 1 (mono-)

                        no. of oxygen atom = 2 (di-)

                        name of the compound: carbon dioxide

LEARN MOREIon Formation linkChemical Formula link

Keywords: nomenclature, ionic, molecular