2-D atoms!
Assume we move to a 2 dimensional world, where the periodic table is based on 3 quantum numbers,
n= 1,2,3,4,.....
m*= -(n-1).. -2,-1 ,0 ,1 ,2, ..(n-1)
s = +0.5 or -0.5
Such that m* plays the combined role of both m and l (3-D quantum numbers)
Assume that in this 2-D world, chemical and physical experience from our world is applicable.
Knowing this, in the 2-D world how does the octet rule and the pseudo-octet rule change?
If the number electrons to complete the new rule and new pseudo-rule are n and m respectively,
What is the value of n + m =
(Based of an IChO question)
The answer is 16.
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1 solution
In the regular octet rule, we have the s, p, d, and f orbitals. To calculate the number of electrons in each shell, we add up all the electrons in each of the subshells in that shell. For example, for n = 2, we sum the 2 electrons in the s subshell AND the 6 electrons in the p subshell to get a total of 8 electrons.
However, subshells would be absent in the 2D model. Thus, we would NOT be adding anything with subshells. For example, n = 1 would have 2 electrons, n = 2 would have 6 electrons, and n = 3 would have 10 electrons. Since the octet rule is filled by n = 2 and the pseudo octet rule is filled by n = 3, the total number is 16 electrons, which is the answer.