What is Oxygen?
Oxygen is a chemical element that belongs to the non-metal group. It comes from the Greek word “oxys”, which means “acid or sharp” and “genes” which means “former or born.” In other words, oxygen means an acid former. It was in 1777 when the term oxygen was coined by Antoine Lavoisier when he created an experiment that involves corrosion and combustion.
It is the third most abundant chemical element found in the sun and plays a significant role in the carbon-nitrogen cycle. Oxygen in gaseous form is odorless and colorless while oxygen in liquid form is pale blue. It exist in two elemental forms; the ozone and molecular form. It also exist in various compounds called oxides.
Where is Oxygen obtained?
Oxygen is all around us for it is one of the most essential elements on Earth. About 50% of the mass of the crust of the earth is oxygen. In the earth’s atmosphere, about 21% of it is oxygen. When obtaining oxygen gas, two processes are used and these are distillation of liquid air and the other is pass clean, dry air using zeolite responsible for absorbing nitrogen and leaves oxygen.
History of Oxygen
The discovery of oxygen was credited to Carl Wilhelm Scheele, Michael Sendivogius, a Polish physician and alchemist, and Joseph Priestly, an English scientist. Scheele conducted an experiment involving burning manganese oxide and discovered that hot manganese oxide created a gas, which at that time he called “fire air.” When this gas gets in contact with charcoal, it creates bright sparks. However, at that time, he didn’t publish the results of his experiments.
Three years after that, Joseph Priestly discovered oxygen. He copied the experiment created by Scheele but with a different set up. He used 12-inch burning glass. He exposed the compounds he was testing to the direct heat of the sun.
He eventually discovered better air, but at that time, he was unsuccessful at pointing out what the exact element was. Well, not until 1775 when a French chemist by the name of Antoine Lavoisier was able to recognize that particular element.
Classification, Properties and Characteristics of Oxygen
Oxygen is a diatomic gas that is tasteless, colorless, and odorless. It is reactive and forms oxides with almost all chemical elements, aside from those belonging to the noble gas category. It dissolves more rapidly in cold water when compared to warm water.
Lewis Dot Structure of Oxygen
Bohr’s Atomic Model of Oxygen
Atomic Data of Oxygen
Physical Properties of Oxygen
| Color | colorless in gas form/pale blue in liquid form |
| Odor | odorless |
| Taste | tasteless |
| Atomic Mass | 15.999 |
| Weight | 15.9994 |
| Density | 1.429 g/litre |
| Atomic Radius | 152 pm |
| Ionization Energy | 13.618 eV |
| Covalent Radius | 0.74 Å |
| Ionic Radius | 152 pm |
| Electronic Gain Enthalpy | 1.41×105Jmol−1 |
| Electron Negativity | 3.44 |
| Electron Affinity | 141 kJ/mol |
| Melting Point | −218.4 °C (−361.1 °F) |
| Boiling Point | −183.0 °C (−297.4 °F) |
Chemical Properties of Oxygen
| Atomic Number | 8 |
| Group | 16 |
| Period | 2 |
| Block | p |
| Electronic Configuration | 1s22s22p4 |
| Combustion | It is not combustible but is necessary for combustion |
| Chemical Reactivity | Oxygen is highly reactive nonmetallic element |
| Valency of Element | 2 |
Different States of Oxygen
Oxygen is highly reactive and forms oxide when combined with other elements. In fact, it can form a variety of compounds. At standard temperature and pressure, oxygen forms diatomic molecules. It is soluble in water, but its property is dependent on temperature. Oxygen becomes liquid when cooled to -183℃. On the other hand, it becomes solid at temperature below -218.79℃.
What are the common uses of Oxygen?
- It plays an important role in the combustion process, which is necessary in every living organism.
- High pressure oxygen streams are used to remove impurities in molten pig iron, which is used in manufacturing steel.
- It is combined with acetylene to create an extremely hot flame, necessary for welding.
- Oxygen plays an important role in fueling rockets. It is combined with liquid hydrogen.
- Oxygen is used in producing ethylene and methanol.
- Oxygen is essential for plants and animals’ respiration.
- Oxygen in pure form is beneficial for patients suffering from respiratory problems.
- Oxygen plays an important role in gas synthesis from coal.
- Oxygen is sued as an inhalant and resuscitation.
- Oxygen plays an integral part in health and medicine. It is important for human survival. Medical oxygen therapy is given to patients suffering from decreased oxygen levels. It can treat conditions like pneumonia, emphysema, and heart-related conditions like congestive heart failure.
Price of Oxygen
The price of canned oxygen is under $50/unit. It does not cost much if you only need oxygen occasionally. However, if you badly need it for a longer period of time, the cost could spike up to over $1,000 per day.
Interesting facts about oxygen
- Don’t you know that oxygen in liquid form is pale blue in color?
- Oxygen dissolves easily in water.
- Oxygen is the third element on the list of the most abundant elements in the universe.
- Don’t you know that 65% of the human body mass is oxygen?
- About 1% of the sun’s mass is oxygen.
- Photosynthesis plays a vital role in the level of oxygen in the air.
- The majority of oxygen in the air comes from minute ocean plants called “phytoplankton.”
- Oxygen is more soluble in water than nitrogen.
- Oxygen atoms are responsible for the green and dark-red colors of the Aurora borealis.
- The ash formed by nuclear fires has an oxygen component.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. Why is oxygen the most important element?
Oxygen is one of the vital chemical elements because it plays a crucial role in respiration. It helps drive the metabolic processes of almost all living organisms on earth. Humans and living things as a whole need oxygen in the air to breathe and stay alive.
Q2. What makes oxygen unique?
Oxygen is unique because it is a highly reactive element and loves to bind with other chemical elements to form various compounds such as oxides.
There are only two elements that do not form compounds when they come in contact with oxygen, and these are neon and helium. Oxidation is the process of combining oxygen atoms with other atoms.
Q3. Why is oxygen so reactive?
Oxygen is very reactive because of its biradical electron configuration. It has two unpaired electrons making oxygen highly susceptible to forming bonds.
Q4. Which element does not react with oxygen?
Although oxygen is very reactive, there are a few elements that oxygen doesn’t react to, and these are helium and neon.
Q5. Which metal is most reactive with oxygen?
Metals are reactive to oxygen, but one reacts the most, and it is aluminum, while the least reactive is copper.
References
- https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/2701-oxygen
- https://www.britannica.com/science/oxygen
- https://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/8/oxygen
- https://www.lenntech.com/periodic/elements/o.htm
- https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Oxygen
- https://www.livescience.com/28738-oxygen.html
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxygen
- https://www.chemicool.com/elements/oxygen-facts.html
- https://www.thoughtco.com/oxygen-facts-p2-606571
- https://www.littlehouseofscience.com/20_fascinating__fun_science_facts_oxygen