Refer to the following illustration. How many hydrogen atoms could bond with oxygen?

Answer: The number of hydrogen atoms that can combine to oxygen are 2.
Explanation:
Oxygen is the 8th element of the periodic table with electronic configuration: [tex]1s^22s^22p^4[/tex]
This element requires 2 electrons to attain stable electronic configuration.
Hydrogen is the 1st element of the periodic table with electronic configuration: [tex]1s^1[/tex]
This element will loose 1 electron to attain stable electronic configuration.
2 Hydrogen atoms will share their 1 electron each with 1 oxygen atom. So, that both the element attain stable electronic configuration.
They will form a covalent compound with chemical formula [tex]H_2O[/tex]
Hence, the number of hydrogen atoms that can combine to oxygen are 2.