How many electrons in the first free levels of silicon

There are four electrons in the n=3 shell

There are no electrons in the first free level of any element.

But I suspect it is a typo and it means the first three levels? Silicon has electronic configuation of

1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p2

So I suspect the answer that is being looked for is 10.

To determine the number of electrons in the first few energy levels of an atom, we need to understand the electron configuration of the atom. In the case of silicon (Si), we can use the periodic table as a reference.

Step 1: Find silicon on the periodic table. Silicon is located in Group 14 and Period 3.

Step 2: Determine the atomic number of silicon. The atomic number of silicon is 14, which indicates that a neutral silicon atom has 14 electrons.

Step 3: Determine the electron configuration. Silicon has the following electron configuration: 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p².

Step 4: Count the number of electrons in the first three energy levels. The first three energy levels are represented by the following subshells: 1s, 2s, and 2p. Adding up the number of electrons in these subshells gives us:

1s² + 2s² + 2p⁶ = 2 + 2 + 6 = 10 electrons.

Therefore, in silicon, the first three energy levels (also known as the first "shells") contain 10 electrons.