Question

A known compound contains two atoms of sulfur and two atoms of oxygen. Write the name and formula of this compound.

Answer 1

The compound is S₂O₂ or disulfur dioxide.

S₂O₂ contains two atoms of sulfur and two atoms of oxygen.

It is also known as the dimer of  sulfur monoxide, SO.

Both sulfur and oxygen are nonmetals. So when naming nonmetals we put a prefix before them. 'di' means 2. Since there are two atoms of each element of  sulfur and oxygen, we name S₂O₂ as disulfur dioxide.