Oxygen for Kids
OK-sih-jen · Nonmetal
I wonder… What's in the air that you need to breathe?
Oxygen is the gas you need to breathe. Every breath you take brings oxygen into your body.
Quick facts
- Atomic number
- 8
- Symbol
- O
- Atomic mass
- 15.999
- Type
- Nonmetal
- Discovered
- 1774
- Discovered by
- Carl Scheele and Joseph Priestley
- Name means
- “acid maker”
- At room temperature
- Gas
How oxygen was discovered
Part 1 of 3
Fire air
Around 1771, a Swedish pharmacist named Carl Wilhelm Scheele heated some chemicals and made a gas that made things burn super brightly. He called it “fire air.” But his book about it wasn't printed until 1777!
Part 2 of 3
The magnifying glass
Meanwhile, in 1774, English scientist Joseph Priestley used a big magnifying glass to heat a red powder. Out came a gas that made a candle blaze! He even breathed some. He said it made his chest feel light and easy.
Part 3 of 3
A name that's wrong
A French scientist, Antoine Lavoisier, figured out what this gas really was. He named it oxygen, which means “acid maker,” because he thought it was in every acid. He was wrong, but the name stuck!
What is oxygen used for?
Breathing
Your body uses oxygen to turn food into energy. You breathe it in thousands of times every day.
Hospitals
Doctors give extra oxygen to patients who need help breathing.
Rocket fuel
Rockets carry super-cold liquid oxygen so their fuel can burn in space, where there's no air.
Fun facts about oxygen
How much of you is oxygen?
Oxygen is the most common element in your body. About 65 out of every 100 pounds of you is oxygen!
What color is it?
Oxygen gas is invisible, but liquid oxygen is pale blue. It even sticks to magnets!
Is it in rocks?
Yes! Almost half of the rocks and dirt in Earth's crust is made of oxygen.
Inside a oxygen atom
Oxygen has 2 electrons on its inside track and 6 on its outside track.
Quiz yourself
1. What did Lavoisier think oxygen was in?
- Every acid
- Every piece of gold
- Every raindrop
Show the answer
Every acid. “Oxygen” means “acid maker.” Lavoisier was wrong, but we still use the name!
2. What is the most common element in your body?
- Carbon
- Iron
- Oxygen
Show the answer
Oxygen. About 65 out of every 100 pounds of your body is oxygen.
Try it at home (with a grown-up): Catch a leaf making oxygen
Grown-up needed! Only do this with a grown-up right next to you, the whole time.
You'll need
- A grown-up helper
- A fresh green leaf (just picked)
- A clear plastic cup of water
- A sunny spot
- A magnifying glass (if you have one)
What to do
- Grown-up’s job Pick a fresh green leaf from a plant you know is safe to touch.
- Put the leaf all the way under the water. A small rock on top can hold it down.
- Set the cup in bright sunshine.
- Wait about 1 hour. Go do something fun!
- Bring the cup into the shade, then look closely at the leaf. Do you see tiny bubbles on it?
- The leaf is using sunlight to make food, and it gives off oxygen. Some of those bubbles are oxygen the leaf made!
Safety rules
- Never look straight at the Sun.
- Only use the magnifying glass in the shade. In sunlight it can burn skin or start a fire.
- Don't pick leaves from plants you don't know. Some plants, like poison ivy, can give you a rash.
- Wash your hands after touching the leaf.
Draw it
Draw an underwater plant making oxygen bubbles in the sunshine.
Riddle
“You need me to breathe, and plants make bubbles of me in the sunshine. What am I?”
Explore oxygen with animations, read-aloud and a drawing pad
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