Introduction
In chemistry and atomic physics, an electron shell may be thought of as an orbit followed by electrons around an atom's nucleus.
The closest shell to the nucleus is called the "1 shell" (also called the "K shell"), followed by the "2 shell" (or "L shell"), then the "3 shell" (or "M shell"), and so on farther and farther from the nucleus.
Table of contents
You can expect this article to cover:
- Electron shells definition
- How do electron shells work
- How do electron shells fill up
- Electron shells capacity
- Electron shells orbitals
- How to find number of electron shells
- Electron shells energy levels
Electron shells definition
An electron shell is the outside part of an atom around the atomic nucleus.
It is a group of atomic orbitals with the same value of the principal quantum number n.
Electron shells have one or more electron subshells, or sublevels.
How do Electron Shells Work
Arranged in different shells around the nucleus.
Electrons are arranged in different shells around the nucleus.
Each successive shell can only hold a certain number of electrons.
The innermost shell is filled first.
This shell can contain a maximum of two electrons.
The second shell can hold a maximum of eight electrons.
How do Electron Shells Fill Up
Bohr model of an atom, showing energy levels as concentric circles surrounding the nucleus.
The electron shells of an atom are populated from the inside out, with electrons filling up the low-energy shells closer to the nucleus before they move into the higher-energy shells further out.
Electron shells capacity
Each shell can contain only a fixed number of electrons: The first shell can hold up to two electrons, the second shell can hold up to eight (2 + 6) electrons, the third shell can hold up to 18 (2 + 6 + 10) and so on.
The general formula is that the n th shell can in principle hold up to 2 (n2) electrons.
Electron shells orbitals
There are four types of orbitals that you should be familiar with s, p, d and f ("sharp", "principle", "diffuse" and "fundamental").
Within each shell of an atom there are some combinations of orbitals.
How to Find Number Of Electron Shells
If you use the numbering system of labeling each group from left to right as 1-18, groups 1 and 2 have one valence electron and two valence electrons respectively.
For groups 13-18, the number of valence electrons is the group number minus 10.
Electron shells energy levels
Energy of the electrons within them changes from shell to shell.
Electron shells are also called electron energy levels because the energy of the electrons within them changes from shell to shell.
The electrons in the innermost shell are the least energetic, and those in the outermost shell are the most energetic.
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