Question

An atom has an electron with ml=2. What is the smallest value of n for this electron?

a) n = 2
b) n = 3
c) n = 1
d) n = 4

Answer 1

The smallest value of the principal quantum number n for an electron with a magnetic quantum number ml = 2 is n = 3. Having an atomic number of seven, nitrogen normally consists of two electron shells.

Step-by-step explanation:

The student has asked a question related to the quantum numbers of electrons within an atom. Specifically, they want to know the smallest value of the principal quantum number n for an electron with a magnetic quantum number ml = 2. To answer this question, we need to consider the possible values of the angular momentum quantum number l, which dictates the allowed values of ml.

For an electron to have ml = 2, the smallest value for l must be 2 (since ml values range from -l to +l). The smallest principal quantum number n that allows an l value of 2 is n = 3 (as when n = 2, l can only be 0 or 1). Thus, the correct answer is b) n = 3.

As for nitrogen, which has an atomic number of seven, it has two electron shells typically. The first shell (n=1) can hold up to 2 electrons and the second shell (n=2) can hold up to 8 electrons, for a total of 10 possible electrons across the two shells, which is more than enough to accommodate nitrogen's seven electrons. Hence, the correct answer to that question is b) two.