Question

What does an-ite or-ate ending in a polvatomic ion mean?

Answer 1

These suffices are used in oxygen compounds

Take example of Sulphur

• SO_2=sulphite
• SO_3=sulphate

ite means 2 and ate means 3

Answer 2

An -ite or -ate ending means a polyatomic ion that includes oxygen is in the formula.

ate = one more O than -ite

Step-by-step explanation:

Example:

NO2 is nitrite

NO3 is nitrate

You can see that the molecules are made of the same elements, however they have more or less of one of the elements (i.e. oxygen).