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What is Oxygen for Kids?

Published in Science & Gases 2 mins read

Oxygen is a special gas that's all around us, but you can't see it, smell it, or taste it! It's a very important part of the air we breathe, and it helps us live. Here's more about it:

What Does Oxygen Look Like?

  • Normally, oxygen is a gas without color, odor, or taste.
  • If you made it very, very cold, it would turn into a pale blue liquid. It gets this way at temperatures below –297 °F (–183 °C).
  • If you made it even colder, it would freeze into a solid at around –360 °F (–218 °C).

What Does Oxygen Do?

Oxygen is very active and likes to join with other things. This is called "oxidizing." For example:

  • When something burns, it’s because oxygen is joining with it very quickly.
  • It joins with almost all other elements, making them "oxidized." This is like when metal gets rusty – that's also oxygen at work!

Is Oxygen Important?

Yes! Oxygen is super important. Here are a few reasons:

  • We breathe it in to stay alive. Our bodies need it to make energy from the food we eat.
  • Most animals and plants need oxygen too.
  • Without oxygen, there wouldn't be fire.

Oxygen Facts for Kids

Feature Description
State Gas at room temperature
Color Colorless as a gas
Odor Odorless as a gas
Taste Tasteless as a gas
Liquid Pale blue below –297 °F (–183 °C)
Solid Solid at about –360 °F (–218 °C)
Chemical Very reactive and combines with almost all elements