Consider the four quantum numbers of an electron in an atom, n, l, ml, and ms. the energy of an electron in an isolated atom depends on: . l, ml, and msonly. b. n only. c. n and l only. d. n, l, and mlonly. e. all four quantum numbers.

The energy of an electron in an isolated atom depends on b. n only.

Explanation:

The quantum number n, known as the principal quantum number represents the relative overall energy of each orbital.

The sets of orbitals with the same n value are often referred to as an electron shell, in an isolated atom all electrons in a subshell have exactly the same level of energy.

The principal quantum number comes from the solution of the Schrödinger wave equation, which describes energy in eigenstates , and for the case of an hydrogen atom we have:

Thus for each value of n we can describe the orbital and the energy corresponding to each electron on such orbital.