The number of paired electrons in oxygen atom is :

Options

A. 6
B. 16
C. 8
D. 32

Answer

To find the number of paired electrons in an oxygen atom, we can follow these steps:

### Step 1: Determine the Atomic Number of Oxygen
The atomic number of oxygen is 8. This means that an oxygen atom has 8 electrons.

### Step 2: Write the Electron Configuration
The electron configuration of oxygen can be written as follows:
- The first 2 electrons fill the 1s orbital: **1s²**
- The next 2 electrons fill the 2s orbital: **2s²**
- The remaining 4 electrons go into the 2p orbital: **2p⁴**

So, the complete electron configuration for oxygen is: **1s² 2s² 2p⁴**.

### Step 3: Identify Paired and Unpaired Electrons
- In the **1s²** orbital, both electrons are paired (2 electrons).
- In the **2s²** orbital, both electrons are also paired (2 electrons).
- In the **2p⁴** orbital, we can visualize the distribution of electrons:
- The 2p subshell can hold a maximum of 6 electrons.
- The 4 electrons in the 2p orbital will fill the orbitals as follows:
- 2 electrons will pair up in one of the 2p orbitals (let's say 2p₁).
- The remaining 2 electrons will occupy the other two 2p orbitals (2p₂ and 2p₃) singly.

Thus, in the 2p orbital, we have:
- 2 electrons paired in one orbital (2p₁)
- 2 unpaired electrons in the other two orbitals (2p₂ and 2p₃)

### Step 4: Count the Total Number of Paired Electrons
Now, we can count the total number of paired electrons:
- From the 1s orbital: 2 paired electrons
- From the 2s orbital: 2 paired electrons
- From the 2p orbital: 2 paired electrons (from 2p₁)

Total paired electrons = 2 (from 1s) + 2 (from 2s) + 2 (from 2p) = **6 paired electrons**.

### Conclusion
The number of paired electrons in an oxygen atom is **6**.

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