Sulphur is a solid while oxygen is a gas at room temperature. Why ?

Explanation

The size of oxygen atom is quite small. The oxygen atoms can be linked to each other by double bond (O=O) because `p pi-p pi` bonding is possible in this case. Therefore, oxygen exists in the gaseous state as discrete molecules. Multiple bonding is not so effective in sulphur atoms due to large atomic size. Therefore, sulphur atoms cannot be linked to sides resulting in a puckered ring `(S_(8))`. Molecular sulphur `(s_(8))` is a solid since the van der Waals forces of attraction are strong in the molecules.