Which of following statements correctly describes energy levels?
A. Electrons can never move to a higher or lower energy level.
B.In it's outermost energy level, oxygen has 4 valence electrons.
C. The second energy level holds a maximum of eight electrons.
D. The greater the energy of the level, the father away it is from the nucleus.
To determine which statement correctly describes energy levels, let's analyze each statement:
A. Electrons can never move to a higher or lower energy level.
This statement is incorrect. Electrons can indeed move to higher or lower energy levels. When an electron absorbs energy, it moves to a higher energy level, and when it releases energy, it moves to a lower energy level. The movement between energy levels is responsible for various physical and chemical phenomena.
B. In its outermost energy level, oxygen has 4 valence electrons.
This statement is correct. Valence electrons refer to the electrons in the outermost energy level of an atom. For oxygen, its atomic number is 8, meaning it has eight electrons. The electron configuration of oxygen is 2-6, indicating that it has two electrons in the first energy level and six electrons in the second energy level. Therefore, in its outermost energy level (the second energy level), oxygen has four valence electrons.
C. The second energy level holds a maximum of eight electrons.
This statement is also correct. In the Bohr model or the quantum mechanical model of an atom, each energy level has a maximum occupancy of electrons. The first energy level can hold up to two electrons, while the second energy level can hold up to eight electrons. This pattern continues as you move to higher energy levels.
D. The greater the energy of the level, the farther away it is from the nucleus.
This statement is correct. In the Bohr model, electrons in higher energy levels are indeed located at farther distances from the nucleus. As electrons gain energy and move to higher energy levels, they occupy orbits that are progressively located at greater distances from the nucleus. Hence, the greater the energy level, the farther away it is from the nucleus.
Therefore, both statements B and D correctly describe energy levels.