Which is the correct IUPAC name for the molecular compound NO?

• A. Binitrogen oxide
• B. Nitric oxide
• C. Nitrogen monoxide
• D. Dinitrogen dioxide

Answer: (B)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Step 1: Identify the elements present in the compound NO. It contains nitrogen (N) and oxygen (O).
2. Step 2: Determine the number of atoms of each element in the molecule. NO has one nitrogen atom and one oxygen atom.
3. Step 3: Recall the naming rules for molecular (covalent) compounds: use prefixes to indicate the number of atoms (mono-, di-, tri-, etc.), and the second element's name ends with '-ide'.
4. Step 4: Apply the prefixes: since there is one nitrogen atom, the prefix 'mono-' is usually omitted for the first element, but the oxygen atom is one, so 'mono-' is used before 'oxide'. This gives 'nitrogen monoxide'.
5. Step 5: Recognize that the common and accepted IUPAC name for NO is 'nitric oxide', which is a traditional name used widely in chemistry, even though 'nitrogen monoxide' follows the systematic naming rules.