Question #33d8c

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Answer 1 · 2015-10-14T13:56:20

The answer is (c) $9$

Each electron shell corresponds to a different energy level, which is represented by the principal quantum number, $n$ .

The $M$ shell designates the third energy level, for which $n=3$ .

The relationship between the principal quantum number and the number of orbitals is given by the equation

$"no. of orbitals" = n^2$

This equation will produce

$n = 1 implies "no. of orbitals" = 1^2 = 1$

$n = 2 implies "no. of orbitals" = 2^2 = 4$

$n=3 implies "no. of orbitals" = 3^2 = 9$

The $M$ shell will thus contain a total of $9$ orbitals

one 3s-orbital

three 3p-orbitals

five 3d-orbitals