Question

N shell can have a maximum of _______________ electrons.

Answer 1

Maximum electrons present in each shell:-

• According to the orbital theory of the atom, an orbital can maximally accommodate 2 electrons.
• The K shell has only one orbital, therefore it can only accommodate 2 electrons.
• The L shell has four orbitals (2s and 3 2p (2px, 2py, 2pz orbitals)), and 2s orbital can hold 2 electrons and the three 2p orbitals can hold 6 electrons. Therefore, the L shell can hold 8 electrons.
• The M shell has nine orbitals (one 3s and three 3p orbitals and five 3d orbitals). The s orbital can hold 2 electrons, the 3 p orbitals can hold 6 electrons and 5 d orbitals can hold 10 electrons. . Therefore, the M shell can hold 18 electrons.
• The N shell has sixteen orbitals (one 4s, three 4p orbitals, five 4d orbitals, and seven 4f orbitals). The s orbital can hold 2 electrons, the 3 p orbitals can hold 6 electrons and 5 d orbitals can hold 10 electrons and the seven f orbitals can hold 14 electrons. Therefore, the M shell can hold 32 electrons.
• There is also a general formula to calculate the number of electrons in any shell: $2{\mathrm{n}}^2$, where ‘n’ is the number of shell.

n	no. of electrons
$K(n=1)$	$2n^2=2{\left(1\right)}^2=2$
$L(n=2)$	$2n^2=2{\left(2\right)}^2=8$
$M(n=3)$	$2n^2=2{\left(3\right)}^2=18$
$N(n=4)$	$2n^2=2{\left(4\right)}^2=32$