If oxygen is O2 then how can ozone be O3 as 3 times oxygen is oxygen?

Answer 1

Hi,

O2 refers to the fact that two oxygen atoms are united in the molecule of oxygen. In ozone 3 oxygen atoms are unitied. That's all

Answer 2

Oxygen is a very reactive element. It does not stick around as an O. It combines with another O to make O2 a more stable form. O3, ozone is another form. It is made in the atmospjere as lightning goes through the air and splits the O2s and the free O's join onto a close O2 to make O3. Ozone exists in the lower atmosphere as a component of smog. In the upper atmospjere it helps stop ultraviolet rays from the sun, which caise skin cancer and cataracts. It has its pros and cons.

Answer 3

O2 is chemical nomenclature describing how atoms of an element interact (or not). Oxygen is a gaseous element - this means it is made only of oxygen and cannot be broken down into something else. In contrast water is a compound, as a water molecule can be broken down into the element oxygen and the element hydrogen. These chemically combine to form a compound.
Oxygen will react with many other elements to become unreactive and stable. A stable element is a happy element and when an oxygen atom combines with another oxygen atom, it forms O2.
O3 forms when three oxygen atoms combine in the high atmosphere and this highly reactive species helps to absorb UV light from space.

Answer 4

Chemistry is a beautiful thing! :)

In nature, the ordinary bond that oxygen molecules form is the O2 molecule. It's just the way oxygen likes to be. When something happens that creates an O3 molecule, the properties of the atomic oxygen change. Because of the difference in composition and chemical bonds, O3 will act differently than an O2 molecule, making it a different substance with different chemical properties than regular oxygen.

Answer 5

There are a certain number of elements in this world (in periodic table) but there are millions of molecules and compounds (elements joined together) Just like there are only 26 letters but many words.Oxygen is an element, O. The molecule of Oxygen gas that we breath is O2, (O-O)two oxygen atoms joined together. Ozone is different again. This time three oxygen atoms join together is a triangular form and produce a different molecule all together. The key thing to remember is that the number does not mean times, it simply shows how many atoms are together.

e.g. H2O means one hydrogen atom and 2 oxygen atoms joined.

Hope this helps

Answer 6

O, O2, and O3 are all oxygen. O is one oxygen atom. O2 is 2 atoms bound together, which is how oxygen most commonly appears in the atmosphere. O3 is 3 atoms bound together, and is called ozone. They are all nothing but the element oxygen.

Answer 7

Oxygen is an element that is capable of forming two covalent bonds. When one atom of oxygen bonds to another atom of oxygen using double bonds, you get a molecule of O2, or diatomic oxygen, which our body can use for cellular respiration. If three oxygen atoms bond together, sort of in a triangle, single-bonded to each other, then you get a molecule of O3, or ozone. Ozone is highly reactive and can easily oxidize (break down) polymers, such as car tires or the protein structure of your lungs.

These two molecules are called "allotropes" of each other...they are both made of the same element, but they have a different molecular structure.

Answer 8

Oxygen, O2, is a stable oxygen molecule. Ozone, O3, is unstable, and tends to be created when there is a large electrical discharge causing huge amounts of negative ionization (like, say, a bolt of lighting).

Answer 9

Oxygen molecule, O2, is made of two _atoms_ of oxygen. Ozone molecule, O3, is made of three atoms of oxygen. Ozone behaves differently from oxygen, has different purposes, etc. It's not 3 times oxygen, just sort of... different.

Answer 10

Oxygen is an element capable of forming covalent bonds. When the oxygen atom forms one covalent bond with another oxygen atom it becomes O2. a covalent bond is a bond in which the atoms share their electrons to fulfil their octet i.e having 8 electrons in the outer orbit. As oxygen has 8 electrons - 2 electrons in the first orbit leaving 6 electrons in the outer orbit. This means it need two more electrons to complete the octet. So two oxygen atoms share two electrons with each other. they are capable of forming another type of bond - the dative bond, where only one atom shares the pair of electrons exactly what happens when oxygen becomes O3. They are completely different due to these bonds. That's it.