How many subshells are in the n=3 shell?
The correct answer and explanation is :
The number of subshells in the ( n = 3 ) shell is 3.
Explanation:
The electron shell, denoted by the principal quantum number ( n ), can hold various types of orbitals called subshells. The number of subshells in a shell is determined by the value of ( n ). For each value of ( n ), the possible values of the azimuthal quantum number ( l ) range from 0 to ( n-1 ). These correspond to different types of subshells:
- ( l = 0 ) corresponds to the s subshell.
- ( l = 1 ) corresponds to the p subshell.
- ( l = 2 ) corresponds to the d subshell.
- ( l = 3 ) corresponds to the f subshell, and so on.
For the shell where ( n = 3 ):
- When ( l = 0 ), the subshell is 3s.
- When ( l = 1 ), the subshell is 3p.
- When ( l = 2 ), the subshell is 3d.
Thus, for ( n = 3 ), there are 3 subshells: 3s, 3p, and 3d.
Further Explanation of Subshells:
Each subshell contains a specific number of orbitals:
- The s subshell has 1 orbital (which can hold 2 electrons).
- The p subshell has 3 orbitals (which can hold 6 electrons).
- The d subshell has 5 orbitals (which can hold 10 electrons).
Therefore, in the ( n = 3 ) shell, there are 3 subshells, and these subshells together can hold a total of 18 electrons (2 electrons from 3s, 6 electrons from 3p, and 10 electrons from 3d).
Let me now generate an image to visually represent these subshells for the ( n = 3 ) shell.
Here is an educational diagram illustrating the subshells for the ( n = 3 ) shell, showing the 3s, 3p, and 3d subshells with their respective orbitals. This should help visualize how the orbitals are arranged within the subshells!