Why can higher energy levels accommodate more electrons?

1 Answer
Jun 10, 2015

Because higher energy levels contain more orbitals.

Explanation:

As you know, the maximum number of electrons that a shell can hold is given by the formula

no. electrons=2n2, where

n - the energy level.

Electrons that surround a nucleus can be found in orbitals, with each orbital having a maximum capacity of 2 electrons. You can determine the number of orbitals an energy level has by using this formula

no. orbitals=2n22=n2

This tells you that higher energy levels have more orbitals available for electrons to occupy. The first energy level only has 1 orbital, so its capacity is limited to 2 electrons.

The second energy level has a total of 22=4 orbitals ,so it can hold up to 8 electrons.

The third energy level has a total of 32=9 orbitals, so its capacity is 18 electrons.

The fourth energy level has a total of 42=16 orbitals, so its capacity is 32 electrons.

So, as a conclusion, higher energy levels can support more orbitals, which in turn means that they can hold more electrons.