• Question: Does Oxygen travel in twos

    Asked by singjam to Carla, Madgie, Nick, Vicky, Werner on 14 Nov 2013.
    • Photo: Werner Muller

      Werner Muller answered on 14 Nov 2013:

      Do you mean if oxygen is a single atom or two atoms? Normally it comes in pairs but it can also be a single atom. It it single it is very reactive and interact quickly with other atoms.

    • Photo: Nick Groves-Kirkby

      Nick Groves-Kirkby answered on 14 Nov 2013:

      As Werner says, in the air oxygen is normally found as the gas O2. However, O2 reacts easily with other things and the oxygen atoms often split up. An example is respiration which generates carbon dioxide and water (H2O; where there is only one oxygen).

      Oxygen also travels in threes, called ozone (O3). This is the gas that makes up the ozone layer, which sits high up in the atmosphere and protects us from the damaging ultraviolet (UV) rays of the sun.

Comments