Oxygen will typically form 2 covalent bonds with other atoms.

Why the answer is 2

  • Oxygen is in group 6 (or group 16), so it has 6 valence electrons.
  • To get a full outer shell (8 electrons, the octet), it needs 2 more electrons.
  • By forming 2 covalent bonds, oxygen can share 2 electrons from other atoms, reaching that stable octet configuration.

So in most simple molecules (like water, H₂O, or oxygen gas, O₂), each oxygen atom forms 2 covalent bonds.