The number of lone pair of electrons on each atom of oxygen molecule is

Options

A. 1
B. 2
C. 3
D. nil

Explanation

To determine the number of lone pairs of electrons on each atom of an oxygen molecule (O₂), we can follow these steps:

### Step-by-Step Solution:

1. **Identify the Atomic Structure of Oxygen:**
- Oxygen (O) has an atomic number of 8, which means it has 8 electrons. The electronic configuration is 1s² 2s² 2p⁴.

2. **Determine Valence Electrons:**
- The valence shell for oxygen is the second shell (n=2), which contains 6 valence electrons (2 from 2s and 4 from 2p).

3. **Draw the Lewis Structure:**
- In the Lewis structure of O₂, each oxygen atom shares 2 electrons with the other, forming a double bond. This means that 2 of the 6 valence electrons from each oxygen atom are used for bonding.

4. **Calculate Remaining Electrons:**
- After forming the double bond, each oxygen atom has 4 valence electrons remaining (6 total - 2 used for bonding = 4).

5. **Identify Lone Pairs:**
- The remaining 4 electrons on each oxygen atom can be grouped into 2 lone pairs (since a lone pair consists of 2 electrons).

6. **Conclusion:**
- Therefore, each atom of oxygen in the O₂ molecule has 2 lone pairs of electrons.

### Final Answer:
Each atom of oxygen in the oxygen molecule (O₂) has **2 lone pairs of electrons**.

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