How many energy levels do the electrons occupy for a neutral Oxygen atom? *

Question

6

2

8

-2

Answer 1

A neutral oxygen atom has 8 electrons. The electron configuration of oxygen is \(1s^2 2s^2 2p^4\).

The electrons occupy the following energy levels:

• The first energy level (n=1) has 2 electrons in the 1s subshell.
• The second energy level (n=2) has 6 electrons (2 in the 2s subshell and 4 in the 2p subshell).

Thus, electrons occupy 2 energy levels in total.

So the answer is 2.