Question

The atomic number of oxygen is
A. 6
B. 8
C. 10
D. 16

Answer 1

Hint: Find out the number of protons in oxygen because atomic no. of an element is given by the no. of protons present in that element. The no. of protons in oxygen is 8. The atomic number is represented by Z.

Complete answer:
The atomic number or proton number of any chemical element is the number of protons found in the nucleus of every atom of that element.
It is denoted by symbol Z. It is identical to the charge number of the nucleus.
For oxygen, there are 8 protons present in the nucleus.
So, Z=8

So, the correct answer is “Option B”.

Additional Information:
 In the symbol representing a particular nuclear or atomic species, the atomic number may be indicated as a left subscript. It is given by the number of protons.
A proton is a subatomic particle with a positive charge. It has a charge of $+1.6\times {10}^{-19}C$ and mass of $1.67\times {10}^{-27}kg$ which is 1836 times the mass of an electron. Protons, together with electrically neutral particles called neutrons, make up all atomic nuclei except for the hydrogen nucleus which consists of a single proton. Protons are the chief constituent of primary cosmic rays and are among the products of some types of artificial nuclear reactions.

Note:
Study the Periodic Table to learn about the atomic number of various elements which is simply given by the number (A) which constitutes both protons and neutrons. Every nucleus of a given chemical element has the same number of protons. This number defines the atomic number of an element and determines the position of the element in the periodic table. When the number of protons in a nucleus is equal to the number of electrons orbiting the nucleus, the atom is electrically neutral.