Why is MnO2 classified as Manganese Dioxide if prefixes applied only to naming molecular compounds?

Answer 1

You're right. It shouldn't be Manganese dioxide. It is Manganese (IV) oxide. Manganese dioxide is a common name.

Answer 2

A chemical formula (also called molecular formula) is a concise way of expressing information about the atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound. A chemical formula is also a short way of showing how a chemical reaction occurs. For molecular compounds, it identifies each constituent element by its chemical symbol and indicates the number of atoms of each element found in each discrete molecule of that compound. If a molecule contains more than one atom of a particular element, this quantity is indicated using a subscript after the chemical symbol. For ionic compounds and other non-molecular substances, the subscripts indicate the ratio of elements in the empirical formula.

Manganese(IV) oxide is the chemical compound MnO2, more usually called manganese dioxide. This blackish or brown solid occurs naturally as the mineral pyrolusite, which is the main ore of manganese. It is also present in manganese nodules. The principal use for MnO2 is for dry-cell batteries, such as the alkaline battery and the zinc-carbon battery.
[1] MnO2 is also used for production of MnO4–.
It is used extensively as an oxidising agent in organic synthesis, for example, for the oxidation of allylic alcohols.

Answer 3

Formally, it's called manganese(IV) oxide. If someone tells you there are hard and fast naming rules that apply to chemistry though, they are being over simplistic. Why do we persist in calling propanone 'acetone'? Why do we call ethanoic acid 'acetic acid'? Because we just do. Why do american physical chemists insist on using calories as a unit of energy? Because it's what they're used to.

Answer 4

Because the angle of the dangle is directly proportional to the heat of the meat.