can i ask another assenine question? if i have MnSO4, rather than setting the whole compound to 0, I take SO4 by itself and Mn by itself to get a charge of -2 for the SO4 and 2 for the Mn? and the same for K2SO4? i had been setting this all equal to 0, unless they were free floating polyatomic ions.
maybe i can make myself more clear.
like in SO4, i would set the whole thing equal to -2 and get -2 for oxygen and 6 for Sulfur.
but when i do MnSO4 am i supposed to set the whole thing equal to 0, and take SO4 all together as a -2 charge, thereby making Mn a +2 charge? or should i post this in a new topic. im posting it here because im still trying to balance that equation.