Question

How many electrons can the second shell hold?

Answer 1

`8`

Explanation:

L Shell can have 8 electrons to its max.
it contains s and p subshell which can hold upto 2 and 6 electrons respectively . so, answer is 8.

Answer 2

8

Explanation:

The second shell when filled is `1s^2 2s^2 2p^6` This gives 8 electrons in the second shell.

In the first shell there is only one type of orbital the s
In the second shell there are two types of orbitals the s and p
In the third shell there are three types of orbitals the s p and d
In the fourth shell there are four types of orbiatals s, p, d and f

The s has 1 orbital
The p has 3 orbitals
The d has 5 orbitals
The f has 7 orbitals

The g if it exists would most likely have 9 orbitals.

Each orbital can hold a maximum of 2 electrons.

The second shell has 1 s orbital 3 p orbitals for a total of 4 orbitals which can hold a maximum of 8 electrons