Answer:
To determine how many electrons fit in each energy level, use the formula:
2n²
N is equal to the number of energy levels. Using this formula, we can determine that there are:
- First energy level holds 2 electrons
- Second energy level holds 8 electrons
- Third energy level holds 18 electrons
- Fourth energy level holds 32 electrons
- And so on...
Keep in mind though, that for an atom's outermost shell, it can only contain 8 valence electrons due to the octet rule that states that an element only needs eight electrons in their outermost shell in order to be stable.