Is Oxygen a Metal, Nonmetal or Metalloid?
Oxygen (O) is a nonmetal — a nonmetal: a poor conductor, hungry for electrons, forming molecules or covalent networks rather than metallic crystals. It sits in group 16, period 2, and is a gas at room temperature.
Teachers call it "one fact, fully handled" — exactly what this page does for Oxygen. The answer sits at the top in bold; scroll for the working, the shell-by-shell breakdown and the two questions students ask most. Need the whole picture instead — history, characteristics, uses, exam questions? The full Oxygen page is one click away.
The one-line answer, with reasons
Oxygen is a nonmetal. Chemists decide by behaviour, not appearance: metals (unlike Oxygen) give up electrons, shine when freshly cut, and conduct heat and electricity; nonmetals take or share electrons and (as solids) break rather than bend. Oxygen follows the nonmetal playbook — placed in the nonmetal family of the table.
Oxygen's metal/nonmetal report card
| Property | Value | Typical of |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Nonmetal | — |
| Phase at room temp | gas | varies |
| Block | p-block | — |
| Group | 16 | — |
| Period | 2 | — |
The family it belongs to
The whole nonmetal family shares one seating area of the table, and every member's family ID card is one click away — compare Oxygen with its upstairs or downstairs neighbour and the family pattern jumps out.
Students also ask
Is Oxygen a good conductor of electricity?
No — Oxygen is a nonmetal and does not conduct the way metals do.
Can a gas be a nonmetal — like Oxygen?
Yes — being a metal or nonmetal is about bonding and electron behaviour, not state. At room temperature Oxygen is a gas, and that says nothing against its nonmetallic character.