if copper reacts with oxygen is it still an element
If copper reacts with oxygen is it still an element?
Answer: When copper reacts with oxygen, it forms copper oxide. Copper itself is an element, defined by its atomic number, which is 29. In a chemical reaction with oxygen, copper does not lose its essential properties as an element. The copper atoms remain unchanged, they just combine with oxygen atoms to form copper oxide. Copper retains its chemical identity throughout the reaction even though it forms a compound with oxygen. Therefore, even after reacting with oxygen, copper is still considered an element since its atomic structure remains the same. The chemical properties of the copper atoms do not change, they only participate in a chemical bond with the oxygen atoms.