Valence electrons of oxygen

Free

CT : General Intelligence and Reasoning (Practice Set)

10 Questions 20 Marks 8 Mins

Last updated on Nov 16, 2022

The SSC CGL Application Status for NER, WR, NWR, ER & KKR Region is active! Candidates can log in to the regional website of SSC and check their application status. SSC CGL 2022 Tier I Prelims Exam Date was out on the official website of SSC. The prelims exam will be conducted from 1st to 13th December 2022. The SSC CGL 2022 Notification was out on 17th September 2022. The SSC CGL Eligibility is a bachelor’s degree in the concerned discipline. This year, SSC has completely changed the exam pattern and for the same, the candidates must refer to SSC CGL New Exam Pattern.

Oxygen is the eighth element of the periodic table and the symbol is ‘O’. The standard atomic mass of oxygen is 15.99903. Oxygen participates in the formation of bonds through valence electrons. This article discusses in detail how to easily calculate the number of valence electrons in oxygen. Hopefully, after reading this article you will know in detail about this.

  • How many electrons, protons and neutrons does an oxygen atom have?
  • What are the valence electrons of oxygen?
  • How do you calculate the number of valence electrons in an oxygen atom?
  • What is the valency of oxygen?
  • How many valence electrons does oxide ion(O2-) have?
  • Compound formation of oxygen by valence electrons

How many electrons, protons and neutrons does an oxygen atom have?

The nucleus is located in the center of the atom. Protons and neutrons are located in the nucleus. The atomic number of oxygen is 8. The atomic number is the number of protons. That is, the number of protons in the oxygen is 8. Electrons equal to protons are located in a circular shell outside the nucleus. That is, oxygen atoms have a total of eight electrons.

The number of neutrons in an element is obtained from the difference between the number of atomic masses and the number of atoms. That is, neutron number (n) = atomic mass number (A) – atomic number (Z)

We know that the atomic number of oxygen is 8 and the atomic mass number is about 16(15.999). Neutron = 16 – 8 = 8. Therefore, the number of neutrons in oxygen is 8.

What are the valence electrons of oxygen?

Oxygen is a non-metallic element. Oxygen is an element of group-16. The valence electron is the total number of electrons in the last orbit. The total number of electrons in the last shell after the electron configuration of oxygen is called the valence electrons of oxygen. The valence electrons determine the properties of the element and participate in the formation of bonds. The electron configuration of oxygen shows that the last shell of oxygen has a total of six electrons.

Valence electrons of oxygen
Valence electrons of oxygen

How do you calculate the number of valence electrons in an oxygen atom?

The valence electrons have to be determined by following a few steps. The electron configuration is one of them. It is not possible to determine the valence electron without electron configuration. Knowing the electron configuration in the right way, it is very easy to determine the valence electrons of all the elements.

However, valence electrons can be easily identified by arranging electrons according to the Bohr principle. Now we will learn how to determine the valence electrons of oxygen.

Step-1: Determining the total number of electrons in oxygen

First we need to know the total number of electrons in the oxygen atom. To know the number of electrons, you need to know the number of protons in oxygen. And to know the number of protons, you need to know the atomic number of the oxygen element. To know the atomic number we need to take the help of a periodic table. It is necessary to know the atomic number of oxygen elements from the periodic table.

Valence electrons of oxygen
Position of oxygen in the periodic table

The atomic number is the number of protons. And electrons equal to protons are located outside the nucleus. That is, we can finally say that there are electrons equal to the atomic number in the oxygen atom. From the periodic table, we see that the atomic number of oxygen is 8. That is, an oxygen atom has a total of eight electrons.

Step-2: Need to do electron configuration of oxygen

Step 2 is very important. In this step, the electrons of oxygen have to be arranged. We know that oxygen atoms have a total of eight electrons. The electron configuration of oxygen shows that there are two electrons in the K shell and six in the L shell. That is, the first shell of oxygen has two and the second shell has six electrons.

Valence electrons of oxygen
Oxygen Electron Configuration

Step-3: Determine the valence shell and the calculate total electrons

The third step is to diagnose the valence shell. The last shell after the electron configuration is called the valence shell. The total number of electrons in a valence shell is called a valence electron. The electron configuration of oxygen shows that the last shell of oxygen has six electrons. Therefore, the valence electrons of oxygen are six.

Valence Electrons for Oxygen (O)

What is the valency of oxygen?

The ability of one atom of an element to join another atom during the formation of a molecule is called valency(valence). The number of unpaired electrons in the last orbit of an element is the valency of that element. The electron configuration of oxygen in ground-state is 1s2 2s2 2px2 2py1 2pz1.

Valence electrons of oxygen
Valency and valence electrons of oxygen

Here, the electron configuration shows that the last shell of oxygen has two unpaired electrons. Therefore, the valency of the oxygen is 2.

The elements that have 5, 6, or 7 electrons in the last shell(orbit) receive the electrons in the last shell during bond formation. The elements that receive electrons and form bonds are called anion. During the formation of bonds, the last shell of oxygen receives two electrons and turns them into an oxide ion(O2-). That is, oxygen is an anion element.

O + 2e– → O2-

Here, the electron configuration of oxide ion(O2-) is 1s2 2s2 2p6. This electron configuration shows that oxide ion(O2-) have two shells and the second shell has eight electrons and it acquired the electron configuration of neon. That is, in this case, the valence of oxygen ions is -2. Since the last shell of an oxygen ion has eight electrons, the valence electrons of an oxide ion(O2-) are eight.

Compound formation of oxygen by valence electrons

Oxygen participates in the formation of bonds through its valence electrons. This valence electron participates in the formation of bonds with atoms of other elements. Oxygen atoms form bonds by sharing electrons with hydrogen atoms.

Valence electrons of oxygen
Water molecule structure

The electron configuration of hydrogen shows that hydrogen has only an electron. Two hydrogen atoms and an oxygen atom make water(H2O) compounds by sharing electrons. As a result, the oxygen atom completes its octave and acquires the electron configuration of neon.

On the other hand, hydrogen acquires the electron configuration of helium. Therefore, an oxygen atom shares electrons with two hydrogen atoms to form the H2O(water) compound through covalent bonding.

Quality education can build a beautiful society. I’m Farhan Sadik. I used to enjoy chemistry from school life. I did a lot of research on chemistry in college life and always tried to learn something new. One of the topics of my research is the periodic table. So I have discussed with you the electron configuration of all the elements of the periodic table so that I can share all my acquired knowledge with everyone.

How many valence electrons does oxygen have?

Valence electron of oxygen is 6 and each oxygen atom will share 2 valence electrons to make a bond.

Why does oxygen have 2 valence electrons?

The number of electrons in Oxygen is 8. So, electronic configuration of oxygen is 2,6. It takes or accepts 2 electrons to achieve 8 electrons in its outermost shell to complete the octet and become stable. Hence the valency of oxygen is 2.

Is the valency of oxygen 6?

Atomic Number of oxygen is 8. electronic Configuration of oxygen= 2, 6. So the valency is 8-6 = 2.