Exactly as the title asks.

Pure oxygen is generally represented as O2 yet oxygen is an element of the periodic table. Why is it O2 and not just O?

  • DefederateLemmyMl
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    131 year ago

    O2 denotes two oxygen atoms binding together into one molecule.

    O1 or simply O can’t really exist for long in nature, because it’s not stable and will bind with almost anything it meets, including another O atom.