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Atomic weight = 15.9994 8O Electron configuration = 1s22s22p4 | |
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Oxygen is in Group 16 and has a valence electron configuration ns2np4. Oxygen exists at room temperature and 1 atmosphere pressure as a diatomic gas, O2(g). Oxygen gas is fairly reactive and reacts directly with most other elements except the halogens, the Group 18 noble gases and some of the less reactive metals. Important compounds of oxygen include water, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen peroxide, and silicon dioxide. Can you write the formulas of these compounds? An allotrope of oxygen, ozone, O3(g), is formed in the stratosphere by the effect of solar radiation on oxygen gas. O2(g) ---> 2O(g) O(g) + O2(g) ---> O3(g) Ozone helps to protect the earth from radiation damage by the reaction O3 ---> O(g) + O2 which absorbs UV radiation. However, nitrogen oxides that end up in the stratosphere can threaten the ozone layer because they are decomposed by solar radiation to species that react with, and thus deplete, ozone. |
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