Achieve #21

[Anisa Morales 1L]

Hello,

I need help on the first "question" in problem 21 on the achieve homework. " How many electrons in an atom could have these sets of quantum numbers? n=3" I feel like I tried every number I can think of and nothing works. Can anyone help me and explain how they got that answer?

[katrinahuwang_1L]

The n=3 shell contains three subshells, the 3s, 3p, and 3d, which respectively contain one, three, and five orbitals for a total nine orbitals. Each orbital can hold a maximum of 2 electrons, so in total, that's 18 electrons that the n = 3 shell can hold.

[Chloe Borja 2D]

Hello! Just to add on to the previous reply, we know that there are 3 subshells because the angular momentum quantum number (l) when n=3 can be 0, 1, or 2, which represents s, p, and d respectively.

Hope this helps :)

[Austin_Schwartz_1L]

Hi Anisa. My thought process when approaching this problem is as follows: when n=3, "l" can equal 0,1 or 2. This means that we can be working with 3s, 3p, or 3d. 3s has 1 orbital, meaning it can have two electrons. 3p has 3 orbitals, meaning it can have 6 electrons. 3d has 5 orbitals, meaning it can have 10 electrons. Because we are only given n, any of these subshells are possible so we add up all the electrons (2+6+10=18). Therefore, there are 18 electrons. I hope this helps!

[Shane_Yu_3K]

The subshells with n=3 are 3s, 3p, and 3d. 3s has 1 orbital. 3p has 3 orbitals. 3d has 5 orbitals. And each orbital holds 2 electrons. Thus, 1x2 + 3x2 + 5x2 = 18 electrons.

[Chris Korban 1D]

having the n=3 subshell means that l can be equal to 0,1, or 2 and this refers to the s, p, and d orbitals. S orbitals have 2 electrons each, p have 6 and d have 10 so the total amount of electrons that can have the number n=3 is 18 electrons

[Preethika Praveen 2G]

Hi! When n=3, the angular momentum quantum number (l) can only be 0, 1, and 2, which corresponds to the s, p and d subshells. The s subshell has 1 orbital, the p orbital has 3 orbitals and the d orbital has 5 orbitals. Since each orbital can only hold 2 electons we can add add up the number of orbitals and multiply by 2. Therefore when n=3, the 3s, 3p, and 3d subshells can hold a total of 18 electrons.

[Samir Panwar]

When n=3, we can say that l can equal to 0, 1 , or 2. In this case the s, p, or d subshell. The s subshell consists of 1 orbital, the p subshell consists of 3 orbitals, and the d subshell consists of 5 orbitals. Each orbital can hold up to 2 electrons, which makes it so that you can have up to 2+6+10=18 electrons.

[HaleyC 2F]

N=3 includes 3s,3d, and 3p. You would just add the number electrons up which would be 2 (for 3s) + 6(for 3p) and 10(for 3d) which gives you a total of 18 electrons.

[Carla Bruebach 1C]

The n=3 can be l=2, l=1, or l=0, the 3d, 3p, and 3s. D contains five orbitals, p contains 3, and s contains one. Each orbital can hold a maximum of 2 electrons, so ((5x2)+(3x2)+(1x2))=18 electrons

[Heba Bounar 3K]

Hi!
Within the n=3 energy level there are the 3s, 3p, and 3d sublevels. Within the 3s sublevel, there is one orbital that can hold 2 electrons. Within the 3p sublevel, there are 3 orbitals that can hold a total of 6 electrons. Within the 3d dublevel there are 5 orbitals that can hold a total of 10 electrons. Therefore, 18 electrons can share the quantum number n=3.
Hope this helps!

[Yalit Gonzalez 1A]

For a different perspective, I got n=2. Thus l=0 and 1; 2s and 2p. The s-orbital can only house 2 electrons, while the p-orbital can house 6 electrons. Thus in total, there is 8 electrons (which is my answer).

[Aaron Li 1D]

The n=3 quantum number is composed of 3s, 3p, and 3d. 3s has two electrons. 3p has 6 electrons. 3d has 10 electrons. In total, this is 18 electrons. Since n=3 refers to the 3rd energy level, and the 3rd energy level has the s, p, and d orbitals in it, then you would add up all the max amount of electrons in these orbitals.