Multiple Choice
How many electrons can the second and third energy levels hold before they are full?
3
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10. Periodic Properties of the Elements
The Electron Configuration
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Join thousands of students who trust us to help them ace their exams!Watch the first videoMultiple Choice
How many electrons are required to completely fill a 2p molecular orbital (MO)?
A
6
B
8
C
2
D
4
Verified step by step guidance1
Recall that a 2p atomic orbital can hold a maximum of 6 electrons because it has three degenerate orbitals (2p_x, 2p_y, 2p_z), each capable of holding 2 electrons with opposite spins.
When atomic orbitals combine to form molecular orbitals (MOs), the number of MOs formed equals the number of atomic orbitals combined. For 2p orbitals, this typically results in bonding and antibonding MOs.
Specifically, the 2p orbitals combine to form a set of molecular orbitals: one sigma (σ) and two pi (π) orbitals, each with bonding and antibonding versions, but focusing on the 2p bonding MOs, they can collectively hold the same number of electrons as the original atomic orbitals.
Therefore, to completely fill the 2p molecular orbitals, you need to fill all the available molecular orbitals derived from the 2p atomic orbitals, which corresponds to 6 electrons in total.
Summarize that the maximum number of electrons required to fill the 2p molecular orbitals is 6, matching the capacity of the original 2p atomic orbitals.
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