The maximum number of electrons that can occupy the shell with n = 3 is
- A. 8
- B. 10
- C. 18
- D. 32
Explanation
The capacity of a shell is 2n squared, so for n equal to 3 that is 2 times 9, which is 18. Those 18 are distributed as 2 in the 3s, 6 in the 3p and 10 in the 3d subshells. The answer 8 is the common trap, taken from the octet rule rather than from the shell capacity.
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