CHEMISTRY COMMUNITY

I keep practicing how to name ligands, but I cannot figure out a pattern or something helpful to name them. By any chance does somebody have a way or any tips on how to start naming them? Thank you in advance!

Personally I used p. 118 in the course reader with Toolbox 17.1 on p. 741 in the text as a supplement; and practiced with some of the in-class examples for fluency. Hope it works just as well for you!

I began using this method where I wrote down the name of each formula on a notecard and placed them in front of me when working out problems. It became repetitive and stuck a little more each time. Hope this helps!

The method I used to practice naming ligands was I wrote the ligand on one side of a flashcard and the name of it on the back. I repeatedly went through the flashcards and looked at the name and named the ligand (checking the back to see if I was correct) or vice versa (looked at the ligand side of the flashcard and named the name, checking the back side to see if I was correct).

Separating the ligands into groups also helps, I separated them by their charge. This way you can more easily digest all of the information while also memorizing the charge of each ligand while you are trying to remember the name!