What is the principal quantum number for the outermost electrons in a chlorine a
Practice Questions
Q1
What is the principal quantum number for the outermost electrons in a chlorine atom?
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Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
What is the principal quantum number for the outermost electrons in a chlorine atom?
Step 1: Identify the atomic number of chlorine, which is 17.
Step 2: Understand that the atomic number tells us the number of electrons in a neutral atom, so chlorine has 17 electrons.
Step 3: Determine the electron configuration of chlorine. The first 2 electrons fill the 1s shell, the next 2 fill the 2s shell, and the next 6 fill the 2p shell. This accounts for 10 electrons.
Step 4: The remaining 7 electrons go into the next shell, which is the 3rd shell (n=3). The 3rd shell can hold up to 8 electrons, but chlorine only needs 7 more to reach 17.
Step 5: Conclude that the outermost electrons of chlorine are in the 3rd shell, which corresponds to the principal quantum number n=3.
