The chemical symbol for oxygen is O.
Understanding the Oxygen Symbol
Oxygen, a vital element for life, is represented by the single uppercase letter "O" in chemical formulas and equations. This symbol is universally recognized by scientists and educators worldwide. While oxygen often exists as a diatomic molecule (O₂), meaning two oxygen atoms bonded together, the symbol "O" refers to a single oxygen atom.
Multiple reputable sources confirm this:
- Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/science/oxygen states that oxygen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas essential to living organisms. While it doesn't explicitly state the symbol in the snippet, the full article confirms it is O.
- PubChem: https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/element/Oxygen and https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/977 clearly state that the symbol for oxygen is O.
- Science Learning Hub: https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/2701-oxygen explicitly identifies the official chemical symbol as O.
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxygen also confirms the symbol as O.
- Study.com: https://homework.study.com/explanation/what-is-the-symbol-for-oxygen.html provides the answer as O.
While O₂ represents the common molecular form of oxygen, O represents the elemental symbol. It's crucial to differentiate between the elemental symbol and the molecular formula when discussing oxygen.
