Would you expect oxygen to gain or lose electrons when forming an ion?If so, how many would be gained or lost?

Answer 1

Generally it would gain electrons, because it is very electronegative. They always try to gain a noble-gas configuration, so it would want 2.

Answer 2

Oxygen is a diatomic gas or O2. If you ionize oxygen in a plasma, some of the O2 will lose an electron to become O2+. That is only because in a plasma, electrons are ripped off gases. You probably also have O+ and O-radicals.

In solution, you don't have oxygen ions. You can have hydroxide radicals, oxygen singlets, peroxides, but no pure oxygen ions.

(Somehow I feel you might be phrasing your question incorrectly. If this is for a high school assignment, you are probably asking about electronegativity, which oxygen is very electronegative -- i.e., agains an electron. My answer in the first 2 paragraphs would make sense only if you are past college level.) Good luck.

Answer 3

Oxygen has 6 valence electrons (6 electrons in it's outer energy level). Atoms like to have full energy levels (8 electrons in the outer level). So, it would be a whole lot easier to gain 2 than lose 6. Most of the time, Oxygen will gain two electrons when forming an ion.

Answer 4

Oxygen is an electronegative atom. That means it can accept electrons. Oxygen has 6 electrons in its outer orbit and it needs two more to complete the stable octet structure of 8 electrons. So in chemical reactions, it gains two electrons and changes into O2- (oxygen with two negative charges.)
When it reacts with higher electronegative element like flourine(only flourine is more electronegative than oxygen) it forms OF2 .This is the only one compound in which oxygen exists in the positive state as O2+. In this compound oxygen loses two electrons due to the higher electronegative charecter of Flourine.

Answer 5

a general rule is if the element is on the left side of the periodic table it loses electrons, if it is on the right side of the periodic table it gains electrons. Therefore oxygen gains electrons. It usually gains 2 electrons.

Answer 6

I have never heard of Oxygen forming an ion. Generally it forms covalent bonds with other elements.