Question

What is the difference between a shell and a subshell?

Answer 1

(answer below)

Explanation:

The "shell" is the Principal Quantum Number, the number found to the side of a quantum number energy diagram usually as n=(whole number) starting from 1 and going up.

The "sub shells" are the orientations and shapes for your orbitals, going in order by s,p,d,f...

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Answer 2

Shells are a collection of subshells with the same principle quantum number, and subshells are a collection of orbitals with the same principle quantum number and angular momentum quantum number.

Explanation:

In an atom, a shell is a collection of subshells with the same principle quantum number, `n`. The 3s, 3p, and 3d subshells are part of the same shell, as they all have the same principle quantum number of 3. The larger `n` is, the further the shell is away from the center, so electrons in the same shell are at a similar distance from the nucleus.

A subshell is a group of orbitals. Subshells are collections of orbitals which share the same principle quantum number and angular momentum quantum number, `l`, which is denoted by the letters `s`, `p`, `d`, `f`, `g`, `h`, and so on. `l=0` corresponds to `s`, `l=1` with `p`, `l=2` with `d`, etc. Different subshells have different orbital shapes, and electrons in subshells with the same `l` orbit the nucleus in the same approximate shape.

Orbitals each hold two electrons, and electrons in an orbital with the same principle quantum number, angular momentum quantum number, and magnetic quantum number, `m_l` are part of the same orbital. The `m_l` is what distinguishes different orbitals in a subshell.

Simply put, electrons in orbitals sharing the same `m_l`, `l`, and `n` are part of the same orbital, orbitals with the same `l` and `n` are part of the same subshells, and subshells with the same `n` are part of the same shell.

To find the magnetic quantum number from the angular momentum quantum number, you can use the following equation:

`m_l=2l+1`

This means that `s` subshells each hold 1 orbital and therefore 2 electrons:

`2(0)+1=1`

`m_l=1`

`p` subshells each hold 3 orbitals and a total of 6 electrons:

`2(1)+1=3`

`m_l=3`

`d` subshells each hold 5 orbitals and a total of 10 electrons:

`2(2)+1=5`

`m_l=5`

Here is a helpful image: