Question

State the maximum number of electrons that can be present in the outermost shell of an atom.

Answer 1

Bohr-bury scheme — The electrons in the atom are arranged around the nucleus in different shells

• The electrons first occupy the shells which are closet to the nucleus as it has the lowest energy, the three rules are as follows:
• The maximum number of electrons present in the shell is given by the formula { 2n² }, where n is the orbit number or shell.
• The maximum number of electrons in different shells is as follows: The first orbit or K shell will have 2 X 1² = 2, The second shell will have 2 X 2² = 8, and, The third shell will have 3 X 3² = 18, and so on…
• The maximum number of electrons that can be accommodated in the outermost orbit is 8.
• Electron is not accommodated in a given shell unless the inner shells are filled.

Thus, the maximum number of electrons that can be present in the outermost shell of an atom is 8.