Question

Answer the following question.
Sodium reacts with oxygen.

Answer 1

Hint :Sodium is a metal which when reacted with oxygen of the air at room temperature and it will undergo formation of complexes. Therefore sodium is kept or stored in kerosene to prevent from reacting with oxygen and carbon dioxide.

Complete Step By Step Answer:
Let us see what will happen or how the reaction does actually takes place when sodium is reacted with oxygen at room temperature;
 $ 4Na + O{}_2 \to 2Na{}_2O $
Sodium is known to be a very reactive metal; it forms sodium oxide when reacted with oxygen but it is very unstable so it will further react with hydrogen leading to the formation of sodium hydroxide.
 $ Na{}_2O $ (Sodium oxide) is formed by the reaction that takes place between sodium metal and oxygen at room temperature.
 $ Na{}_2O $ have the oxide ion $ O{}^{2 - } $ , which is known to have a strong base with a high tendency to combine with hydrogen ions. Sodium oxide is used as strong basic oxide.
Hence sodium reacts with oxygen to form basic oxides such as sodium oxide.

Additional Information:
Sodium has an atomic number $ 11 $ . It is known to be soft, white, and highly reactive metal. It is an alkali metal which belongs to the group $ 1 $ of the periodic table. It is the sixth most abundant element found on earth.

Note :
There are four types of oxide that is acidic oxide, basic oxide, amphoteric oxide, and neutral oxide. Acidic oxide reacts with water to give acid. Basic oxide will give base. Amphoteric oxide is a metallic oxide that portrays a dual nature. It shows characteristics of acid and bases both. Neutral oxide does not show any tendency to form salts either with acids.