...........................................
Oxygen Element Number 8
Atomic Number 8 Element Facts
What Element is Atomic Number 8?
by Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.
Oxygen, element symbol O,
is the element that is atomic number 8 on the periodic table.
This means every atom of oxygen
has 8 protons.
Varying the number of
electrons forms ions, while altering the number of neutrons makes different
isotopes of the element, but the number of protons remains constant.
Here is a collection of
interesting facts about atomic number 8.
Atomic Number 8 Element Facts
·
While oxygen is a colorless gas under ordinary conditions,
element 8 is actually quite colorful! Liquid oxygen is blue, while the solid
element may be blue, pink, orange, red, black, or even metallic.
·
Oxygen is a nonmetal belonging to the chalcogen group. It
is highly reactive and readily forms compounds with other elements. It is found
as a pure element in nature as oxygen gas (O2) and ozone (O3). Tetraoxygen (O4) was discovered in 2001. Tetraoxygen is an even more potent
oxidizer than dioxygen or trioxygen.
·
Excited oxygen atoms produce the green and red colors of the
aurora. Although air consists mainly of nitrogen, atomic number 8 is
responsible for most of the colors that we see.
·
Today, oxygen makes up 21% of the Earth’s atmosphere. However,
air was not always so highly oxygenated! Photosynthetic organisms, such as
plants and algae, are responsible for maintaining the high oxygen levels
necessary for life. Without photosynthesis, oxygen levels in the atmosphere
would fall.
· Although hydrogen atoms are the most numerous type of atom in the human body,
oxygen accounts for about two-thirds of the mass of most living organisms,
mainly because cells contain a lot of water. 88.9% of the weight of water comes
from oxygen.
·
Swedish pharmacist Carl Wilhelm Scheele, French chemist Antoine
Laurent Lavoisier, and British scientists and clergyman Joseph Priestly
researched and discovered oxygen between 1770 and 1780. Lavoisier first called
element number 8 by the name "oxygen" in 1777.
·
Oxygen is the third most abundant element in the universe.
The element is made by stars around 5x more massive than the Sun when they
reach the point where they burn carbon or a combination of helium in carbon in
fusion reactions. Over time, the abundance of oxygen in the universe will
increase.
·
Until 1961, atomic number 8 was the standard for the atomic
weight of the chemical elements. In 1961, the standard was switched over to
carbon-12.
·
It's a common misconception that hyperventilation is caused by
breathing in too much oxygen. Actually, hyperventilating is caused by exhaling
too much carbon dioxide. Although carbon dioxide can be toxic at high levels,
it is needed in the blood to prevent it from becoming too alkaline. Breathing
too quickly causes blood pH to rise, which constricts blood vessels in the
brain, leading to headache, slurred speech, dizziness, and other symptoms.
·
Oxygen has many uses. It is used for oxygen therapy and life
support systems. It is a common oxidizer and propellant for rockets, welding,
cutting, and brazing. Oxygen is used in internal combustion engines. Ozone
functions as a natural planetary radiation shield.
·
Pure oxygen is not, in fact, flammable. It is an oxidizer,
supporting combustion of flammable materials.
·
Oxygen is paramagnetic. In order words, oxygen is only weakly
attracted to a magnet and does not maintain permanent magnetism.
·
Cold water can hold more dissolved oxygen than warm water. The
polar oceans contain more dissolved oxygen than equatorial or mid-latitude
oceans.
Essential Element 8 Information
Element
Symbol: O
State of Matter at Room
Temperature: Gas
Atomic
Weight: 15.9994
Density:
0.001429 grams per cubic centimeter
Isotopes: At least 11 isotopes of oxygen exist. 3 are stable.
Most Common Isotope: Oxygen-16 (accounts for 99.757% of the
natural abundance)
Melting
Point: -218.79 °C
Boiling
Point: -182.95 °C
Triple
Point: 54.361 K, 0.1463 kPa
Oxidation
States: 2, 1, -1, 2
Electronegativity:
3.44 (Pauling scale)
Ionization Energies: 1st: 1313.9 kJ/mol,
2nd: 3388.3 kJ/mol, 3rd: 5300.5 kJ/mol
Covalent
Radius: 66 +/- 2 pm
Van
der Waals Radius: 152 pm
Crystal
Structure: Cubic
Magnetic
Ordering: Paramagnetic
Discovery:
Carl Wilhelm Scheele (1771)
Named
By: Antoine Lavoisier (1777)
Anne Marie Helmenstine,
Ph.D.
· Ph.D. in biomedical sciences from the University of Tennessee at
Knoxville - Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
· Science educator with experience teaching chemistry, biology,
astronomy, and physics at the high school, college, and graduate levels.
· ThoughtCo and About Education chemistry expert since 2001.
· Widely-published graphic artist, responsible for printable periodic
tables and other illustrations used in science.
Experience
Anne Helmenstine, Ph.D. has covered
chemistry for ThoughtCo and About Education since 2001, and other sciences
since 2013. She taught chemistry, biology, astronomy, and physics at the high
school, college, and graduate levels. She has worked as a research
scientist and also abstracting and indexing diverse scientific literature for
the Department of Energy.
In addition to her work as a science writer, Dr.
Helmenstine currently serves as a scientific consultant, specializing in
problems requiring an interdisciplinary approach. Previously, she worked
as a research scientist and college professor.
Education
Dr. Helmenstine holds a Ph.D. in biomedical
sciences from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and a B.A.
in physics and mathematics with a minor in chemistry from Hastings
College. In her doctoral work, Dr. Helmenstine developed ultra-sensitive
chemical detection and medical diagnostic tests.
Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.
ThoughtCo and Dotdash
ThoughtCo is a
premier reference site focusing on expert-created education content. We are one
of the top-10 information sites in the world as rated by comScore, a leading
Internet measurement company. Every month, more than 13 million readers seek
answers to their questions on ThoughtCo.
For more than 20 years, Dotdash brands
have been helping people find answers, solve problems, and get inspired. We are
one of the top-20 largest content publishers on the Internet according to
comScore, and reach more than 30% of the U.S. population monthly. Our brands
collectively have won more than 20 industry awards in the last year alone, and
recently Dotdash was named Publisher of the Year by Digiday, a leading industry
publication.
No comments:
Post a Comment