How is nitric acid named from the nitrate ion?

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The structure of phosphorous acid, H3PO3. — oxyacid The structure of phosphorous acid, H₃PO₃.

When naming an oxyacid derived from an oxygen-containing anion, the name of the acid is determined by the suffix of the anion's name.

For anions ending in -ate, such as the nitrate ion ( ${NO}_{3}^{-}$ ), the suffix is replaced by -ic to form the name of the corresponding acid. Following this rule, the nitrate ion becomes nitric acid ( ${HNO}_{3}$ ).1