Oxygen (O2) and carbon dioxide (CO2) are two of the most important gases in air.
Oxygen is the third most abundant element in the universe and makes up nearly 21% of the earth's atmosphere.
Joseph Priestly and Carl Wilhelm Scheele both independently discovered oxygen in 1774, but Priestly is usually given credit for the discovery.
The name oxygen was created by Antoine Lavoisier, who incorrectly believed that oxygen was necessary to form all acids.
Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound, the molecule of which consists of one atom of carbon joined to two atoms of oxygen (CO2).
It was first called "fixed air" by the Scottish chemist Joseph Black, who obtained it through the decomposition of chalk and limestone, and recognized that it entered into the chemical composition of these substances.
What are the properties of oxygen and carbon dioxide? Let's take a look at the table below.
Oxygen is the third most abundant element in the universe and makes up nearly 21% of the earth's atmosphere.
Joseph Priestly and Carl Wilhelm Scheele both independently discovered oxygen in 1774, but Priestly is usually given credit for the discovery.
The name oxygen was created by Antoine Lavoisier, who incorrectly believed that oxygen was necessary to form all acids.
Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound, the molecule of which consists of one atom of carbon joined to two atoms of oxygen (CO2).
It was first called "fixed air" by the Scottish chemist Joseph Black, who obtained it through the decomposition of chalk and limestone, and recognized that it entered into the chemical composition of these substances.
What are the properties of oxygen and carbon dioxide? Let's take a look at the table below.
| Property | OXYGEN | CARBON DIOXIDE |
| Colour | Colourless | Colourless |
| Smell | Odourless | Odourless |
| Taste | Tasteless | Sour |
| Solubility in water | Slightly soluble | More soluble then oxygen |
| Solubility in sodium hydroxide solution | Not soluble | Very soluble |
| Combustion and burning | Supports combustion but does not burn | Does not support combustion and does not burn |
| Effect on lime water | No change | Turn chalky |
| pH | Neutral | Acidic |
| Test for presence of gas | Rekindles glowing wooden splinter | Turn lime water chalky |
