Why are the number of electrons present in the outermost shell 8, why not more than that?

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Solution

The outermost shell of an atom cannot accommodate more than 8 electrons, even if it has a capacity to accommodate more electrons. This is a very important rule and is also called the Octet rule. The presence of 8 electrons in the outermost shell makes the atom very stable because this is the configuration of noble gases.Noble gases have 8 electrons in their valence shell due to which they are stable and unreactive. Due to this rule the shells M and N which have the capacity to hold more than eight electrons (according to 2n²) are allowed to hold only 8 electrons.This rule is valid upto calcium i.e for the first 20 elements.

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