Considering only the molecular orbitals formed by combinations of the s atomic orbitals in the valence shell, how many molecular orbitals can be formed by 5000 sodium atoms?
To determine the number of molecular orbitals formed by combinations of s atomic orbitals in the valence shell of 5000 sodium atoms, we need to consider the number of electrons and their arrangement.
Sodium (Na) has an atomic number of 11, meaning it has 11 electrons. The electronic configuration of sodium is 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s¹.
Since we are considering only the molecular orbitals formed by combinations of the s atomic orbitals in the valence shell, we are interested in the 3s orbital.
The 3s orbital can accommodate a maximum of 2 electrons. As sodium has only 1 electron in the 3s orbital, we can say that each sodium atom contributes 1 electron to the molecular orbitals.
Therefore, for 5000 sodium atoms, the total number of electrons contributing to the molecular orbitals is 5000.
Since each molecular orbital can accommodate 2 electrons (spin up and spin down), the number of molecular orbitals formed by 5000 sodium atoms would be half the number of electrons.
Therefore, the number of molecular orbitals formed by 5000 sodium atoms would be 5000/2 = 2500 molecular orbitals.