Naming the metal

[Kristina Nguyen 1C]

When do you know when to name the metal alone, with an -ate, or as an ion?

[Deap Bhandal L1 S1J]

I believe it depends if the metal is alone, has a charge, or is part of a larger compound. Metals with no charge are written just as their name appears on the periodic table. Metals with a charge are the same however the charge is written in parentheses. Metals part of compounds must have charges and are often bound with an ion. FeCl2 for example is called Iron (II) chloride. The name of the ion changes depending on what it is.

[MichelleKaku1H]

Not sure if this helps, but I believe -ate is used for anion transition metals only!

[Cynthia Tsang]

Yup! -ate is only used when the transition metal forms an anion.

[AtreyiMitra2L]

You use -ate if the coordination sphere is an anion and don't when it's a cation.