AP Chemistry : Compounds and Molecules
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Example Questions
Example Question #35 : Vsepr And Bond Hybridization
What is the maximum number of electrons an s subshell holds?
Each s subshell has 2 electrons in it, each with opposing spin.
Example Question #35 : Vsepr And Bond Hybridization
How many electrons are there in the p subshell?
Each p subshell can have a maximum of 6 electrons in it. Note that there are three p orbitals, denoted px, py, and pz. These orbitals represent the plane in space in which they reside.
Example Question #36 : Vsepr And Bond Hybridization
What is the maximum number of electrons in a d subshell?
Remember that the d block involves the transition metals. There are 10 transition metal elements per row/period, and those 10 transition elements represent the maximum 10 possible electrons that can be held per d subshell. The d subshell has five orbitals, each with the potential to hold two electrons.
Example Question #37 : Vsepr And Bond Hybridization
What is the maximum number of electrons in the f subshell?
The f block includes the lanthanides and actinides. There are 14 elements per period/row in the f block, which represent each electron that can fit in the f subshell. Thus the f subshell has seven orbitals, each of which can hold a maximum of two electrons for a total of 14.
Example Question #131 : Compounds And Molecules
What is the maximum number of electrons in the n=1 energy level?
Remember, the energy level number is equal to the row number on the periodic table. Looking at row 1, s is the only subshell possible in this row. It has a maximum of two electrons.
Example Question #132 : Compounds And Molecules
What is the maximum number of outer shell electrons in the n=2 energy level?
Remember, the energy level is equal to the row number on the periodic table. Looking at row two, the subshells present are s and p. The s subshell can hold a maximum of two electrons since it only has one orbital, while the p subshell can hold a maximum of six electrons since it has three orbitals. Since all of these electrons are in the n=2 energy level, we add them up to get our answer.
Example Question #133 : Compounds And Molecules
What is the maximum number of electrons possible in the n=3 energy level?
8
The energy level is equal to the row number on the periodic table. The n=3 energy level has an s, p, and d orbital. Since there are one, three, and five orbitals, respectively within each of these subshells, there will be a maximum of 18 electrons in the third energy level.
Example Question #134 : Compounds And Molecules
What is the maximum number of electrons possible in the n=4 energy level?
The energy level is equal to the row number on the periodic table. The n=4 energy level has s, p, d, and f subshells. Since there are one, three, five, and seven orbitals, respectively within each of these subshells, there will be a maximum of 32 electrons in the third energy level. Also, we can use the general formula to find the number of electrons in an energy level: 
Example Question #135 : Compounds And Molecules
What is the maximum number of electrons a single orbital can hold?
Each orbital can only hold a maximum of two electrons, going in opposite directions. Don't confuse this with the number of electrons that can be held within a particular energy level, which is given by the following formula: 
Example Question #136 : Compounds And Molecules
What are the shapes of the following compounds:
- (a) SF6
- (b) XeF4
- (c) NH3
- (d) CH4
- (e) PCl5
Square planar, octahedral, trigonal pyramidal, tetrahedral, trigonal bipyramidal
Square planar, trigonal bipyramidal, trigonal pyramidal, tetrahedral, octahedral
Octahedral, square planar, trigonal pyramidal, tetrahedral, trigonal bipyramidal
Trigonal bipyramidal, square planar, tetrahedral, octahedral, trigonal pyramidal
Octahedral, square planar, trigonal pyramidal, tetrahedral, trigonal bipyramidal
(a) Octahedral: six charge clouds and six atoms (b) Square planar: six charge clouds and four atoms (c) Trigonal pyramidal: four charge clouds and three atoms (d) Tetrahedral: four charge clouds and four atoms (e) Trigonal bipyramidal: five charge clouds and five atoms
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