If an atom of an element has 34 electrons in total, then which orbit is the outermost orbit of the atom and how many valence electrons it contains?
N, 6
The maximum number of electrons in each orbit are given by 2 × n2.
So,
OrbitMaximum no. of electronsK 2L 8M 18N 32
Filling of electrons takes place from inner orbit to outer orbit. 34 electrons can be distributed as follows:
K- 2 electrons
L- 8 electrons
M-18 electrons
After complete filling of K, L and M orbits remaining numbers of electrons i.e.34-(2+8+18)=6 are filled in orbit N.
Hence, N is the outermost orbit and number of valence electrons are 6.