Central "carbon" atom
2 oxygen atoms
held together by "covalent" bonds
has a "1s2 2s2 2px1 2py1 2pz0" electron
geometry
carbon atom is "sp" hybridized
Answer:
5 atoms
Explanation:
According to the law of conservation of mass, "matter is neither created nor destroyed in the cause of a chemical reaction".
We finish with what we start with in a chemical reaction. Although new species might form, the number of atoms on both sides of the expression will still be maintained.
All chemical reactions obey this law of conservation.