Question
Which of the following is an example of an element? Sodium oxide Liquid Metal Oxygen Solid Air
Answer
4.6
(174 Votes)
Yale
Master · Tutor for 5 years
Answer
Oxygen
Explanation
The aim of this question is to determine which of the provided options represents an element. In chemistry, an element represents a substance that cannot be further simplified into smaller constituents by ordinary chemical means.To start off with, Sodium oxide is a compound that constitutes Sodium and Oxygen. Thus, it's clear that this substance doesn't meet the criterion of an element.The words liquid, solid, and air, on the other hand, refer to states of matter and not specific substances so we can immediately exclude those as possible answers.Continuing onwards, we encounter the term "Metal." However, Metal isn't suitable as an answer since metals also colloquially refer to a broad class of elements under the periodic table such as Copper, Iron, and Silver among others. It does not point to one specific element.The last ripe option for our consideration is Oxygen. Oxygen, in actual fact, corersponds to an element as stipulated under the Periodic Table of elements. It is represented as 'O' and is commissioned with the atomic number as 8. Its nuance suffices to be recognized as an elemental substance which can't be divided further by ordinary chemical exercises. Fifteen members comprises the Oxygen group under the Periodic Table. Oxygen is the foremost element in this group, which implies that it shares certain resonance of properties with other members in its group but yet prepared identically under the atomic outline. As a result of its taxonomy and synthesis under chemical sciences, Oxygen, of certainity, feat an answer to these array substances inclined as representations to an elemental disposition.