Question #3ccc1
1 Answer
Because there are
Explanation:
For starters, you should keep in mind that the maximum number of electrons that can be added on the fourth energy level is equal to
Now, the number of subshells present on the fourth energy level, which is described by
You know that
l = {0, 1, ..., n-1}
In your case, the angular momentum quantum number can take four possible values
l = {0, 1, 2, 3}
Now, the number of orbitals present in each subshell is given by the magnetic quantum number,
m_l = {-l, -(l-1), ..., -1, 0, 1, ..., (l-1), l}
This means that you have
l = 0 implies m_l = {0} l = 1 implies m_l = {-1, 0, 1} l = 2 implies m_l = {-2, -1, 0, 1, 2} l = 3 implies m_l = {-3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3}
The orbitals look like this--the single orbital present in the
![https://chemistry.stackexchange.com/questions/31189/what-is-spdf-configuration]()
If you add up the number of orbitals present in each subshell, you will end up with
overbrace("1 orbital")^(color(blue)("in the s subshell")) + overbrace("3 orbitals")^(color(blue)("in the p subshell")) + overbrace("5 orbitals")^(color(blue)("in the d subshell")) + overbrace("7 orbitals")^(color(blue)("in the f subshell")) = "16 orbitals"
Now, you should that each orbital can hold a maximum of
![)
This means that the maximum number of electrons that the fourth energy level can hold is equal to
16 color(red)(cancel(color(black)("orbitals"))) * "2 e"^(-)/(1color(red)(cancel(color(black)("orbital")))) = "32 e"^(-)
The equation that gives you the maximum number of electrons that can be added on a given energy level
color(darkgreen)(ul(color(black)("max no. of electrons" = 2 * n^2)))
In your case,
"max no. of electrons" = 2 * 4^2 = "32 e"^(-)
Notice that