Question

Chalcogens are:

(A) hydrocarbons
(B) ore-forming elements
(C) oxide-forming elements
(D) those having ability to catenate

Answer 1

Hint: The elements of group 16 are called chalcogens. It consists of elements like oxygen and sulphur. It is observed that most metals occur in nature in the form of oxides or sulphides. This is because oxygen and sulphur are highly reactive and form compounds with metals in different proportions.

Complete step-by-step answer:
The chalcogens are the chemical elements present in the 16th group of the periodic table. This group is also known as the oxygen family. The group consists of the elements oxygen (O), sulfur (S), selenium (Se), tellurium (Te), and the radioactive element polonium (Po). They have the same outer electronic configuration: $n{{s}^{2}}n{{p}^{4}}$.
Often, oxygen is treated separately from the other chalcogens, sometimes even excluded from the scope of the term "chalcogen" altogether, as its chemical behavior is much different from the elements of the group like sulphur, selenium.
The term "chalcogen" is derived from a combination of the Greek word khalkόs principally meaning the metal copper(although it was used for alloys of copper as well) and the Latinized Greek word genēs, meaning born or produced.
The term chalcogen was given to elements of group 16 because copper ores were in the form of either copper oxides or copper sulphides. Hence elements of group 16 are considered as ore forming elements.

Therefore, the correct answer is option (B).

Note: Copper does not occur naturally. It mostly occurs in the form of copper sulphides with impurities. The ores with their percentage purity are given below:

Name	Formula	% Copper when pure
Chalcopyrite	$CuFe{{S}_{2}}$	34.5
Chalcocite	$C{{u}_{2}}S$	79.8
Covellite	$CuS$	66.5
Bornite	$2C{{u}_{2}}S.CuS.FeS$	63.3