What is the principal quantum number of potassium and how its electrons are arranged in subshell
Answers
Electrons:
In chemistry and atomic physics, an electron shell, or a principal energy level, may be thought of as an orbit followed by electrons around an atom's nucleus. The closest shell to the nucleus is called the "1 shell" (also called "K shell"), followed by the "2 shell" (or "L shell"), then the "3 shell" (or "M shell"), and so on farther and farther from the nucleus. The shells correspond with the principal quantum numbers (n = 1, 2, 3, 4 ...) or are labeled alphabetically with letters used in the X-ray notation (K, L, M, …).
Each shell can contain only a fixed number of electrons: The first shell can hold up to two electrons, the second shell can hold up to eight (2 + 6) electrons, the third shell can hold up to 18 (2 + 6 + 10) and so on. The general formula is that the nth shell can in principle hold up to 2(n2) electrons.[1] Since electrons are electrically attracted to the nucleus, an atom's electrons will generally occupy outer shells only if the more inner shells have already been completely filled by other electrons. However, this is not a strict requirement: atoms may have two or even three incomplete outer shells. (See Madelung rule for more details.) For an explanation of why electrons exist in these shells see electron configuration.[2]
The electrons in the outermost occupied shell (or shells) determine the chemical properties of the atom; it is called the valence shell.
Each shell consists of one or more subshells, and each subshell consists of one or more atomic orbitals.
Quantum Numbers:
The Bohr model was a one-dimensional model that used one quantum number to describe the distribution of electrons in the atom. The only information that was important was the size of the orbit, which was described by the n quantum number. Schr�dinger's model allowed the electron to occupy three-dimensional space. It therefore required three coordinates, or three quantum numbers, to describe the orbitals in which electrons can be found.
The three coordinates that come from Schr�dinger's wave equations are the principal (n), angular (l), and magnetic (m) quantum numbers. These quantum numbers describe the size, shape, and orientation in space of the orbitals on an atom.
The principal quantum number (n) describes the size of the orbital. Orbitals for which n = 2 are larger than those for which n = 1, for example. Because they have opposite electrical charges, electrons are attracted to the nucleus of the atom. Energy must therefore be absorbed to excite an electron from an orbital in which the electron is close to the nucleus (n = 1) into an orbital in which it is further from the nucleus (n = 2). The principal quantum number therefore indirectly describes the energy of an orbital.
The angular quantum number (l) describes the shape of the orbital. Orbitals have shapes that are best described as spherical (l = 0), polar (l = 1), or cloverleaf (l = 2). They can even take on more complex shapes as the value of the angular quantum number becomes larger.