Deducing Chemical Formulas, GC.

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shaiboy702

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I'm working through DAT Destroyer right now, and it keeps incorporating chemical formulas into the question. ie, "consider calcium phosphate. what is the conc..." I know that we have to know IUPAC naming for ochem, but what about gen chem on the real DAT?

~shai
 
Like the above poster said, you should be familiar with them. Google polyatomic ions. Know name and charge. Maybe also know difference between "per-," "hypo-," "-ite," and "-ate."

Here is a list
http://www.chemcool.com/referencetables/tableE5.jpg

So like in your example calcium phosphate.
From the table we know phosphate is PO4^3-. So it has a -3 charge. We know calcium is in the second group and has a +2 charge.
So in order for the molecule CaPO4 to be neutral (0 charge). We have to have Ca3(PO4)2.
 
Like the above poster said, you should be familiar with them. Google polyatomic ions. Know name and charge. Maybe also know difference between "per-," "hypo-," "-ite," and "-ate."

Here is a list
http://www.chemcool.com/referencetables/tableE5.jpg

So like in your example calcium phosphate.
From the table we know phosphate is PO4^3-. So it has a -3 charge. We know calcium is in the second group and has a +2 charge.
So in order for the molecule CaPO4 to be neutral (0 charge). We have to have Ca3(PO4)2.

sweet, thanks. i didn't know to google "polyatomic ions"
 
its not that they will ask you the name of a compound but there will probably be questions where they refer to it by name so you will have to know the formula to do the question. know the language of chemistry so to speak. i wouldn't worry to much about that cus if you do enough practice problems you will probably pick up the nomenclature as you go along
 
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