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What is the atomic number of oxygen?
A. 6
B. 8
C. 16
D. 2
Correct Answer Is Option = 8
Notes / Explanation
The atomic number of oxygen is eight, which places oxygen at the eighth position in the arrangement of the chemical elements. In chemistry, each element is given an atomic number, which is a fundamental property that identifies the element and determines its place in the table of the elements. The atomic number of an element is the number of a particular kind of tiny particle found in the central core, or nucleus, of the atoms of that element, and this number is unique to each element, so that no two elements have the same atomic number, and it is by this number that the elements are arranged in order. Oxygen has the atomic number eight, meaning that its atoms contain eight of these particles in their nucleus, and it is placed at the eighth position in the arrangement of the elements. Oxygen is one of the most important elements for life and for the world. It is a gas that has no colour, no smell and no taste, and it makes up a significant part of the air, being the gas that human beings and most other living things must breathe in order to survive, for it is used by the body to release energy from food. Oxygen is also essential for burning, since nothing can burn without it. Beyond its presence as a gas in the air, oxygen is a very abundant element, being the most abundant element in the crust of the Earth, where it is found combined with other elements in the rocks and minerals, and it is a component of water, which is a compound of oxygen and hydrogen, as well as of a great many other substances, including those that make up living things. Because it combines readily with many other elements, oxygen is found in a great variety of compounds. Oxygen is therefore one of the most important and abundant of all the elements, essential to life and to many processes in nature and industry. The study of the elements, their atomic numbers and their properties is a fundamental part of chemistry. For PPSC and other competitive examinations, the key points to remember are that the atomic number of oxygen is eight, that the atomic number identifies an element and determines its place in the arrangement of the elements, that oxygen is a colourless, odourless gas essential for breathing and for burning, and that it is the most abundant element in the crust of the Earth and a component of water and of many other substances.
