The number of electrons in each shell surrounding the nucleus increases as you move further from the nucleus. The shells are typically labeled as K, L, M, N, O, P, and Q. Each shell can hold a maximum number of electrons based on the formula *2n2* where *n* is the shell number. Here's the configuration for the first few shells:
K shell (n = 1): The K shell is closest to the nucleus and can hold up to two electrons.
L shell (n = 2): The L shell can hold up to eight electrons. It consists of two subshells:
- L1 subshell: Holds up to two electrons.
- L2 subshell: Holds up to six electrons.
M shell (n = 3): The M shell can hold up to 18 electrons. It consists of three subshells:
- M1 subshell: Holds up to two electrons.
- M2 subshell: Holds up to six electrons.
- M3 subshell: Holds up to ten electrons.
N shell (n = 4): The N shell can hold up to 32 electrons. It consists of four subshells:
- N1 subshell: Holds up to two electrons.
- N2 subshell: Holds up to six electrons.
- N3 subshell: Holds up to ten electrons.
- N4 subshell: Holds up to fourteen electrons.
Subsequent shells follow a similar pattern, with the number of electrons and subshells increasing as the shell number increases.
