The compound KClO2 is named potassium chlorite.
To understand this, we can break it down: K represents potassium, a chemical element with the symbol K and atomic number 19. ClO2 is a polyatomic ion known as chlorite, which consists of chlorine (Cl) and oxygen (O) atoms. In this case, chlorine is in a +3 oxidation state as part of the chlorite ion, which is commonly found in various chemical compounds.
When naming chemical compounds, we start with the name of the cation followed by the name of the anion. Since potassium is a metal cation and chlorite is a nonmetal anion, we simply combine them to form the name: potassium chlorite.