Meaning & use
binary compound
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A substance formed from just two different elements chemically joined together, such as water or table salt.
Grammar: A compound counts as binary by its number of elements, not atoms: water has three atoms but is binary.
Patterns
- a binary compound of X and Y
Sodium chloride is a binary compound of sodium and chlorine.
Water, made of hydrogen and oxygen, is the most familiar binary compound.
The students named each binary compound using the rules in their textbook.
Word forms
| plural | binary compounds |
|---|
Common combinations
- name a binary compound
- To name a binary compound, start with the first element.
- ionic binary compound
- Sodium chloride is an ionic binary compound.
- covalent binary compound
- Carbon dioxide is a covalent binary compound.
- form a binary compound
- Magnesium and oxygen form a binary compound.
- formula of a binary compound
- Write the formula of the binary compound first.
Synonyms and how they differ
- two-element compound
- Two-element compound is a plainer description, while binary compound is the standard chemistry term.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: binary compound or mixture?
binary compound vs mixture
A mixture is not chemically bonded and can be separated easily, while a binary compound has two elements chemically joined.
Practice
Which of these is a binary compound?
Choose one answer.
Sodium chloride contains only sodium and chlorine, so it is binary. The other options contain three or more elements.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “binary compound”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.