The correct answer is c) 8 protons and 8 electrons.
Explanation: Oxygen (O) has an atomic number of 8, which means it has 8 protons in its nucleus. In a neutral atom, the number of electrons is equal to the number of protons. Therefore, a single oxygen atom has 8 electrons. When two oxygen atoms combine to form an O2 molecule, they share electrons to form a stable molecule. Thus, in an O2 molecule, there are 8 protons and 8 electrons for each oxygen atom, making a total of 16 protons and 16 electrons in the molecule.