One evening last summer, as I strolled along the promenade in Limbe, a small, scenic port town in southwestern Cameroon, I was stopped by a well-dressed young man who greeted me warmly and took me by the hand.
Phosphorus has 3 shells. The outer shell contains 5 electrons. The electronic configuration is :- <br /> 1s2, 2s2, 2p6, 3s2, 3p3.
Best Answer: You are confusing the wording, this is asking how many are needed TO FILL the outer shell, not how many are IN the outer shell. Sulfur has 6 electrons in its outer shell. To fill the shell you need 8 total, so it needs two more to make 8. Same with N, it has 5 in the valence shell, so it needs 3 more TO FILL the shell.