What would be the molecule FeO, using the Roman Numeral method?

1 Answer
anor277
Nov 4, 2016

#"Ferrous oxide"# #=# #"Iron(II) oxide"#

Explanation:

We specify the oxidation state of the metal with Roman numerals. Oxygen generally has an oxidation state of #-II#, and it does here. The sum of the oxidation numbers equals the charge on the species, and thus iron has an oxidation number of #+II#, i.e. #"ferrous oxide"#.

On the other hand, #"ferric oxide"# is #Fe_2O_3#, or #"Iron(III) oxide"#. The #"ous/ic"# names are now a bit old-fashioned, but you will still see it the literature.

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