How many orbitals are present in the d subshell?

  • A. Three
  • B. Five
  • C. Seven
  • D. Nine

Explanation

For the d subshell l equals 2, so m runs from minus 2 to plus 2, giving five values and therefore five orbitals. With two electrons per orbital the d subshell holds a maximum of ten electrons, which is exactly the width of the d block in the periodic table. The p subshell has three orbitals and the f subshell has seven.

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