Sulfide, Sulfite, Sulfate Ions (Difference and Formulas)

In chemistry it is important to be able to tell the difference between the Sulfide, Sulfite, and Sulfate ion. While the names are similar, they are very different substances.

Sulfide is the ion of Sulfur. It's formula is S 2- .
Sulfite is a polyatomic ion with a 2- ionic charge. It's formula is SO3 2 - .
Sulfate is a polyatomic ion with a 2- ionic charge. It's formula is SO4 2- .

It is probably a good idea to memorize the Sulfate ion (SO4 2- ) since it comes up frequently in chemistry. You can then use the naming rule that an ion ending in ite has one less Oxygen atom that the ion ending in -ate. So if Sulfate is SO4 2 , then Sulfite is SO3 2- . This rule can be used with other similar polyatomic ions as well.

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