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| Chemicals and Their Common Names/Image Source: Bikki |
Sometimes, to make the question harder, they ask you to match multiple compound either with their common name or chemical formula. If not directly in General Awareness section, they can ask you question in Logical Reasoning as an analogy based question.
Though, it is not easy to remember every chemical compound, but here I have listed a selected few which commonly appear in UPSC, SSC, RRB and other exams.
List of Chemical Compounds With Their Common Name and Chemical Formula
| Common Name | Chemical Name | Chemical Formula |
|---|---|---|
| Alum | Ammonium aluminium sulphate | (NH4)Al(SO4)2.12H2O |
| Aspirin | Acetyl salicyclic acid | C9H8O4 |
| Aqua regia | Nitrohydrochloric acid | HNO3+3 HCl |
| Battery acid | Sulphuric acid | H2SO4 |
| Baking soda | Sodium bicarbonate | NaHCO3 |
| Bleaching powder | Calcium chlorohypochlorite | Ca(ClO)2 |
| Blue vitriol | Copper sulphate | CuSO4 |
| Borax | Sodium tetraborate | Na2[B4O5(OH)4].8H2O |
| Brine Aqueous/Saline | Sodium chloride solution | ClH2NaO |
| Brimstone | Sulfur | S |
| Butter of tin | Stanic chloride/Tin tetrachloride | SnCl4 |
| Carbrundum | Silicon carbide | SiC |
| Caustic soda | Sodium hydroxide | NaOH |
| Caustic potash | Potassium hydroxide | KOH |
| Carbolic acid | Phenol | C6H5OH |
| Chalk | Calcium carbonate | CaCO3 |
| Chile saltpeter | Sodium nitrate | NaNO3 |
| Clearwater | Potassium permanganate | KMnO4 |
| Colomel | Mercuric chloride | |
| Corrosive sublimate | Mercuric chloride | HgCl2 |
| Cream of tartar | Potassium hydrogen tartrate | KC4H5O6 |
| Chloroform | Trichloromethane | CHCl3 |
| Dolomite | Calcium Magnesium carbonate | CaMg(CO3)2 |
| Dry ice | Carbon dioxide (solid) | C |
| Epsom salt | magnesium sulfate heptahydrate | H14MgO11S |
| Freon | dichlorodifluoromethane | CCl2F2 |
| Formalin | Formaldehyde (40% solution) | CH2O |
| Gammexane | Benzene hexachloride | C6H6C16 |
| Galena | Lead (II) sulfide | PbS |
| Glauber's Salt | Sodium Sulfate decahydrate | H20Na2O14S |
| Glycerin | Trihydroxy propanol | CH2OH-CHOH-CH2OH |
| Grain alcohol (spirit) | Ethyl alcohol | C2H5OH |
| Green vitriol | Ferrous sulphate | FeSO4 |
| Gypsum | Calciumm sulphate | CaSO4 |
| Heavy Water | Deuterium Oxide | D2O |
| Hydrolith | Calcium hydride | CaH2 |
| Hypo (antichlor) | Sodium thio sulphate | Na2S2O3 |
| Indian nitre | Potassium nitrate | KNO3 |
| Iron pyrite (fool's gold) | Iron disulfide | FeS2 |
| Jeweler's Rouge/Red Rouge | Iron(III) Oxide/Ferric Oxide | Fe2O3 |
| Laughing gas | Nitrous oxide | N2O |
| Lime | Calcium Oxide | CaO |
| Lime stone | Calcium carbonate | CaCO3 |
| Litharge | Lead monoxide | PbO |
| Lunar caustic | Silver nitrate | AgNO3 |
| Marble | Calcium carbonate | CaCO3 |
| MEK | Methyl ethyl ketone | CH3C(O)CH2CH3 |
| Marsh gas (damp-fire) | Methane | CH4 |
| Microcosmic salt | Sodium ammonium hydrogen posphate | (NH4)NaHPO4 |
| Milk of magnesia | Magnesium hydroxide | Mg(OH)2 |
| Mohr's salt | Ferrous ammonium sulphate | (NH4)2Fe(SO4)2·6H2O |
| Moth balls | Naphthalene | C10H8 |
| Muratic acid | Hydrochloric acid | HCl |
| Oil of Wintergreen | Methyl salicylate | C6H4(OH)(CO2CH3). |
| Oil of Vitriol/Oleum | Sulphuric acid | H2SO4 |
| Oxone | Sodium peroxide | Na2O2 |
| Pearl ash | Potassium carbonate | K2CO3 |
| Picric acid | 2, 4, 6, trinitrophenol | (O2N)3C6H2OH |
| Philospher's wool | Zinc oxide | ZnO3 |
| Phosgene | Carbonyl chloride | COCl2 |
| Plaster of paris | Calcium sulphate hemihydrate | Ca2H2O9S2 |
| Plumbago | Graphite | C |
| Prussic acid | Hydrogen cyanide | HCN |
| Pyrene | Carbon tetrachloride | CCl4 |
| Quartz | Silicon dioxide | SiO2 |
| Quick lime | Calcium oxide | CaO |
| Quick silver | Mercury | Hg |
| Radiation pills | Potassium iodide | KI |
| Red lead (minium) | Lead tetroxide | Pb3O4 |
| Road Deicer | Calcium chloride | CaCl3 |
| Rochelle Salt | Potassium Sodium Tartrate | KNaC4H4O6·4H2O |
| Rock Salt | Sodium Chloride | NaCl |
| Rubbing alcohol | Isopropyl alcohol | CH₃CHOHCH₃ |
| Sal ammoniac | Ammonium chloride | NH4Cl |
| Saltpeter | Potassium chloride | KCl |
| Salt of Hartshorn | Ammonium bicarbonate | NH4.HCO3 |
| Salked lime (milk of lime) | Calcium hydroxide Ca(OH)2 | |
| Sand | Silicon dioxide | SiO2 |
| Sugar of lead | Lead acetate | Pb(C2H3O2)2 |
| Sugar | Sucrose | C12H22O11 |
| Table salt (common salt) | Sodium chloride | NaCl |
| Tel | Tetraethyl lead | (CH3CH2)4Pb. |
| Tear gas | Chloropicrin | CCl3NO2 |
| Tinner's fluid | Zinc chloride | ZnCl |
| Vermillion/Cinnabar | Mercuric sulfide | HgS |
| Vinegar | Acetic acid | CH3COOH |
| Washing soda | Sodium carbonate | NAHCO3 |
| Water glass | Sodium silicate | Na2SiO3 |
| White vitriol | Zinc sulphate | ZnS |