compounds include a prefix on the first and second elements and a suffix on the second element, whereas compounds do not have prefixes and only include a suffix on the second element. Ionic; molecular Molecular; ionic Molecular; binary

When it comes to naming compounds, ionic and molecular compounds play by their own rules! Molecular compounds, which are made up of nonmetals, often use prefixes like mono-, di-, and tri- to indicate how many atoms of each element are present. For example, CO2 is called carbon dioxide because it contains two oxygen atoms. Meanwhile, ionic compounds, which typically consist of metals and nonmetals, avoid prefixes altogether, relying instead on the names of the ions involved, such as NaCl, or sodium chloride. Want to avoid common mistakes when naming these compounds? Remember that for molecular compounds, the prefix 'mono-' is often dropped for the first element (like CO instead of mono-carbon monoxide). Also, make sure you’re familiar with the common charges of metallic ions to accurately name ionic compounds, as forgetting these can lead to naming errors like calling FeCl3 "iron(II) chloride" instead of the correct "iron(III) chloride."