When you began chemistry class this year, you probably already knew that the chemical formula for carbon dioxide was CO2 . Today, you will find out why CO2 is named that way. Naming chemical compounds correctly is of paramount importance. The slight difference between the names carbon monoxide (CO, a poisonous, deadly gas) and carbon dioxide (CO2, a greenhouse gas that we exhale when we breathe out) can be the difference between life and death! In this activity, you will learn the naming system for molecular compounds