Oxygen (atomic number 8 and symbol O) is among the elements that you can’t live without. You can find it in the air you take in your fluids and your food.
Here are a few quick facts about Oxygen, the vital element. You can get more in-depth information on oxygen on this page.
Oxygen Facts
- Plants and animals need oxygen to breathe.
- Oxygen gas has no color, is flavorless, and is odorless.
- Liquid along with the solid oxygen is light blue.
- Oxygen can also be found in different colors including orange, pink, red, and black. There’s even a kind of oxygen that resembles the appearance of a metal!
- Oxygen is a metal that is not a.
- Ozone gas generally is the divalent molecule O2. Ozone, also known as O3 is a different type of oxygen pure.
- Oxygen supports combustion. But oxygen in its pure form isn’t a burner!
- Oxygen is paramagnetic. That is, oxygen is attracted in a weak way to magnetism, but it isn’t able to retain the magnetism of a permanent field.
- About 2/3 of the mass in the body of a human being is made up of oxygen because hydrogen and oxygen are the main components of water. This makes oxygen the largest element found in our body, as measured by mass. There are hydrogen atoms that are present inside your body than oxygen molecules but they comprise small amounts of mass.
- Excited oxygen is the reason for the vibrant yellow-green and red hues that are characteristic of aurora.
- It was used as the atomic weight standard for elements until the year 1961 when it was replaced with carbon 12. The oxygen atomic weight is 15.999 and is normally round up to 16.00 in calculations of chemistry.
- What happened to the Oxygen in the first place? Oxygen Created on Earth?
- When you require oxygen for your survival, however, excessive amounts can cause you to die. This is due to the fact that oxygen is an antioxidant. If too much oxygen is present and the body is able to break excessive oxygen to a negatively charged Ion (anion) which can bind to iron. The hydroxyl radical is generated, which can damage membranes that contain lipids. Luckily, our bodies have an array of antioxidants that help fight the effects of oxidative stress.
- Dry air contains around 21 percent oxygen and 78% nitrogen and 1% of other gases. Although oxygen is abundant in the air because of its high reactivity, it’s unstable that it must be replenished continuously through the photosynthesis of plants. Although it is possible to believe that trees are the primary producers of oxygen, it’s thought that 70% of the oxygen in the air is produced by photosynthesis in green algae and cyanobacteria. If there was no life that recycles oxygen, the air would be devoid of gas! Scientists believe that detecting oxygen in the atmosphere of planets could be an indication that it supports life since oxygen is produced through living things.
Also, read 25 Must Know Facts About Atoms
Interesting Facts About Oxygen
- It is believed that a large part of the reason why organisms were so big in the past is that oxygen was present at an increased level. For instance, around 300 million years ago dragonflies were big as birds!
- Oxygen is the 3rd-most plentiful element that exists in all of the Universe. It is produced by stars that are five times larger than our Sun. They use helium or carbon to burn with carbon. The fusion reactions create oxygen and heavier elements.
- Natural oxygen is composed in 3 isotopes which are atoms that have the same number of protons, but different amounts of neutrons. The isotopes include O-16, the O-17 isotope, and the O-18. The most plentiful is Oxygen-16 and responsible for 99.762 percent of the element.
- One method of purifying oxygen is to extract it by liquefying air. One way to make oxygen yourself is by placing the fresh leaf into an ice cube in a sunny location. Are you able to see the bubbles that form around the edge of the leaf? Those contain oxygen. Oxygen is also produced by using the electrolysis of water (H2O). Conducting a sufficiently strong electrical current through water provides those molecules with sufficient energy that breaks down the bonds of oxygen and hydrogen and release a gas that is pure of every element.
- Joseph Priestly usually gets credit for finding the element oxygen back in 1774. Carl Wilhelm Scheele likely discovered the element prior to 1773, however, he did not announce this discovery until Priestly announced his discovery.
- The two elements that don’t form compounds are noble gases like neon and helium. Oxygen atoms generally are in an oxidation state (electric charge) of 2. However, the +2, +1, and -1 states of oxidation are also prevalent.
- Freshwater has around 6.04 milliliters of oxygen per liter and seawater has around 4.95 milliliters of oxygen.
Also, read Facts about the Stratosphere
