Question

How many valence electrons are possessed by an oxygen atom?

Answer 1

The oxygen atom has SIX valence electrons...............

Explanation:

...........which means its ions MIGHT have a `-2` electronic charge.

The oxygen ATOM has `Z=8`, i.e. 8 protonic charges. The neutral atom thus must have 8 electronic charges, 2 of which are inner core, and the remaining 6 are valence electrons. It tends to form ions with 8 valence electrons, i.e. `O^(2-)`, tho' other ions are possible.

In elemental oxygen, the stuff we are breathing now, we conceive a structure of `:stackrel(ddot)O=stackrel(ddot)O:`, and of course this is neutral, and the 6 valence electrons are apparent; the 4 electrons which comprise the double bond are conceived to be shared by the bound atoms.