How many principal electronic shells has an atom whose electronic configuration is shown below? 1s22s22p63s1
Answer Details
The electronic configuration of an atom shows the distribution of electrons in its various energy levels or shells. Each shell can hold a certain number of electrons. The first shell can hold up to two electrons, the second shell can hold up to eight electrons, and the third shell can hold up to 18 electrons. The electronic configuration given as 1s22s22p63s1 shows that there are electrons in the first, second, and third shells. The first shell has two electrons (1s2), the second shell has eight electrons (2s22p6), and the third shell has one electron (3s1). Therefore, the atom has three principal electronic shells. Answer: 3.