The maximum number of electrons that can accommodated in the shell having the principal quantum number 3 is

The maximum number of electrons that can be accommodated in the shell having the principal quantum number 3 is 18. The principal quantum number (n) represents the energy level of an electron in an atom. For a given value of n, there are different subshells with different shapes and orientations. These subshells are represented by the letters s, p, d, and f. For n=3, there are three subshells: 3s, 3p, and 3d. The 3s subshell can hold a maximum of 2 electrons, the 3p subshell can hold a maximum of 6 electrons, and the 3d subshell can hold a maximum of 10 electrons. Therefore, the total number of electrons that can be accommodated in the shell having the principal quantum number 3 is the sum of the maximum number of electrons in each of these subshells: 2 + 6 + 10 = 18 Hence, the maximum number of electrons that can be accommodated in the shell having the principal quantum number 3 is 18.