Question Detail
Question
How many unpaired electrons does an oxygen atom possess in its ground state?
Correct Answer
Option C is the correct answer.
Detailed Explanation
Oxygen has the electron configuration 1s² 2s² 2p⁴. The 2p subshell has three degenerate orbitals. According to Hund's rule, electrons occupy each orbital singly with parallel spins before pairing. With 4 electrons in the 2p subshell, one orbital is fully paired (2 electrons) and two orbitals contain one unpaired electron each, resulting in two unpaired electrons.
Hint
Apply Hund's rule to the 2p⁴ configuration to determine unpaired electrons.