I apologize for the confusion in my previous response. Oxygen actually has 6 valence electrons, not 7. The number of valence electrons for an atom is determined by its position in the periodic table.
Oxygen is located in Group 16 (also known as Group VI A) of the periodic table, and elements in this group have 6 valence electrons. The electronic configuration of oxygen is 1s^2 2s^2 2p^4. The outermost energy level, in this case, is the 2p orbital, which contains 4 electrons. Since the 2s orbital is filled with 2 electrons, the total number of valence electrons is 6.
The valence electrons of oxygen play a crucial role in its chemical behavior. Oxygen tends to gain 2 electrons to achieve a stable electron configuration similar to the noble gas neon. By accepting 2 additional electrons, oxygen attains a complete octet (8 valence electrons), which results in the formation of stable compounds like oxides.
I apologize for the error in my previous response, and I appreciate you bringing it to my attention.