Which of the following is the correct name for the molecular compound NO?

• A. Nitric oxide
• B. Nitrogen monoxide
• C. Nitrous oxide
• D. Nitrogen oxide

Answer: (A)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Step 1: Identify the elements in the compound NO. It consists of nitrogen (N) and oxygen (O).
2. Step 2: Recognize that NO is a molecular (covalent) compound, so we use prefixes to indicate the number of atoms of each element.
3. Step 3: Determine the number of atoms of each element. There is 1 nitrogen atom and 1 oxygen atom.
4. Step 4: Use the appropriate prefixes for the number of atoms: 'mono-' for one and 'oxide' for oxygen. For the first element, 'mono-' is often omitted, so nitrogen remains as 'nitrogen'.
5. Step 5: Combine the names to form the compound name: 'Nitrogen' + 'monoxide' = 'Nitrogen monoxide'. This is the systematic name, but the common name for NO is 'Nitric oxide'.