Final answer:
Oxygen cannot be compressed in the solid state because its molecules are closely packed with little space between them. Oxygen gas can be compressed due to the large space between its molecules. Different gases, like ammonia and oxygen, behave differently under compression at room temperature due to variations in their intermolecular forces.
Step-by-step explanation:
You cannot compress oxygen in the solid state because in solids, atoms and molecules are packed tightly together, leaving very little space between them. In contrast, you can compress oxygen in the gas state because gas molecules are separated by large distances compared to their size, and the forces between them are relatively weak. Compressing a gas involves decreasing the volume between these molecules, which is much easier due to the abundance of space.
At room temperature and normal pressures, oxygen is in a gaseous state and can be compressed significantly. The compressibility of gases like oxygen is a property that allows for the same number of molecules to occupy a smaller volume when pressure is applied, as seen when air is compressed in a tire using a bicycle pump. On the other hand, a solid like frozen oxygen has molecules that are so closely packed that applying pressure does not reduce the volume by a significant amount because you would need to overcome the strong electromagnetic forces between the tightly packed molecules, which is not feasible under ordinary conditions.