My question is very simple
Why do metals when react with oxygen are called oxides like " magnesium oxide" whereas non metals reacting with oxygen become dioxides like "carbon dioxides" , note that the two react with oxygen which has 2 molecules
5 answers
Carbon has two possible common oxides; i.e., CO (carbon monoxide) and CO2 (carbon dioxide). The prefixes mono and di are necessary to distringuish between the two possible compounds. MgO forms just the one oxide. Al2O3 is aluminum oxide because there is no problem in knowing what oxide we are discussing. I hope this helps.
But Sulphur reacting with oxygen becomes suphur dioxide ?
Yes, because S has more than one oxide; i.e., SO, SO2, and SO3 as in sulfur monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and sulfur trioxide.
So still all of them are gases!
thnx alot
thnx alot
In this case, yes. It may be interesting that SiO2, a solid, is called silicon dioxide but SiO2 is the only oxide of Si as far as I know. So there are some exceptions to what I have written. In the case of Si, I susspect the name dioxide was put on it many years ago, since it is such a common compound (sand), and the name has stuck as the dioxide. I don't have any proof of that, however.
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