CO2 means one carbon and two oxygen atoms, not molecules. An oxygen atom alone is generally unstable/highly reactive. Its most favored configuration is to couple itself with another Oxygen atom creating O2, a molecule. But CO2 is not deemed as a molecule of O2 combined with C because the stereochemical configuration is different. The oxygen atoms are no longer bound to one another in a molecule of CO2 but are each bound to the carbon. It thus becomes a totally separate and unique molecular entity. Not a combination of molecules. And why did I just go through all this. Bye.
