Question

How many electrons can exist with the principal quantum number’s value as 4?

(a) 16

(b) 4

(c) 32

(d) 12

The question was asked during an online exam.

This interesting question is from Quantum Mechanical Model of Atom topic in portion Structure of Atom of Chemistry – Class 11

Answer 1

The correct choice is (c) 32

For explanation: The number of orbitals within an orbit is n2. But as each orbital can accommodate 2 electrons, the number of electrons that can exist with the “n” as the principal quantum number is 2n^2. So here 2n^2 = 2(4)^2 = 2(16) = 32.