How many subshells are present in the shell with principal quantum number n = 6?

• A. 12
• B. 5
• C. 3
• D. 6

Answer: (D)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Recall that the principal quantum number \(n\) defines the shell number and determines the possible subshells within that shell.
2. Understand that the azimuthal quantum number \(l\) can take integer values from \(0\) up to \(n-1\) for a given shell \(n\).
3. Each value of \(l\) corresponds to a different subshell: \(l=0\) is the s subshell, \(l=1\) is the p subshell, \(l=2\) is the d subshell, and so on.
4. For \(n=6\), list all possible \(l\) values: \$0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5$.
5. Count the number of possible \(l\) values to find the number of subshells in the \(n=6\) shell, which equals the number of subshells.