If an atom has an atomic number of 8, how many protons does it have and what is the element

Oxygen with the symbol O has the atomic number 8 which means it is the 8th element in the table. The number eight also means that oxygen has eight protons in the nucleus.

Explanation:

answer:

the answer is 6 valence electrons.

explanation:

valence is the # of electrons on the outer most shell of an atom.

oxygen has 6.

although, the valency of oxygen is 2, because it only needs to make 2 covalent bonds, or gain 2 electrons, to achieve the stable octet configuration of a noble gas.

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