Instructor: Mark Pearcy. Plato's allegory of the cave is one of the best-known, most insightful attempts to explain the nature of reality. The cave represents the state of most human beings, and the tale of a dramatic exit from the cave is the source of true understanding.
We also have to know how many electrons can fit into each state. There is only one s-orbital per shell, and it can hold a total of 2 electrons. There are three total p-orbitals (ml = -1,0,1) that can hold a total of 6 electrons (because each ml can have an ms of +1/2 or -1/2. There are five d-orbitals (ml = -2,-1,0,1,2) that can hold a total of 10 electrons. Here's an example to help put this in context. We need to write the electron configuration for an oxygen atom. First, go to the periodic table and find how many electrons oxygen has.
How to Write the Electron Configuration for Neon. Neon is the tenth element with a total of 10 electrons. In writing the electron configuration for neon the first two electrons will go in the 1s orbital. Since 1s can only hold two electrons the next 2 electrons for Ne go in the 2s orbital. The remaining six electrons will go in the 2p orbital. Therefore the Ne electron configuration will be 1s22s22p6.