How are ions and ionic compounds named (chemistry)?

Question

i need to know how u get the certain suffix's to the different ions and ionic compounds, like the cations, the anions or whatever they r called. basically where do u put the ite, ate, ous, and ic endings

Answer 1

the ate and ite suffixes are used only on negative ions
the ate suffix is used for the most common combination of an element with oxygen
the ite suffix has one less oxygen than the ate ion (and the same charge)
examples:
ClO3-1 = chlorate and ClO2-1 = chlorite
SO4-2 = sulfate and SO3-2 = sulfite

the ous and ic suffixes are only used on positive ions
when a metallic element can form more than one kind of ion, the ous suffix is given to the lower charge and the ic suffix is given to the higher charge
examples:
Cu+1 = cuprous and Cu+2 = cupric
Cr+2 = chromous and Cr+3 = chromic

the ous and ic suffixes represent an older naming system and have been replaced with roman numerals to indicate the numeric charge
Cu+1 = copper (I) and Cu+2 = copper (II)
Cr+2 = chromium (II) and Cr+3 = chromium (III)

Answer 2

There are some patterns to how the ending are used, but for the most part you memorized them.

The "-ite" ending on oxanions usually will have one less oxygen than the "-ate" form, but the same charge. Examples:

SO4 -2 is sulfate and SO3 -2 is sulfite
NO3 - is nitrate and NO2 - is nitrite

For metals with two possible charges the "-ous" ending is used with the one that is the lowest of the two. The "-ic" with the highest of the two. Examples:

Fe +2 is ferrous and Fe +3 ferric
Cu + is cuprous and Cu +2 is cupric

Answer 3

positive cations keep their original name, but negative anions change their ending to "ide". If a polyatomic ion is present, the ending is the name of the polyatomic.

EX:
KCl = potassium chloride
AgNO3 = silver nitrate (polyatomic)
Na2S = sodium sulfide
MgO = magnesium oxide
CuSO4 = copper sulfate (polyatomic)