This document discusses ionic compounds and how they are formed and named. When atoms gain or lose electrons to form ions, they are called cations if positively charged or anions if negatively charged. Ionic compounds are named by writing the metal first followed by the nonmetal, such as calcium chloride (CaCl2) where calcium is the metal cation and chloride is the nonmetal anion. Polyatomic ions, groups of atoms that behave as a single unit with a charge, are also included in ionic compound names such as iron (III) sulfate (Fe2(SO4)3) where sulfate is the polyatomic anion.