The document discusses shielding and screening in atoms. Shielding refers to the reduction of the true nuclear charge on the atom's nucleus by the electrons in other orbitals. Screening is the same concept as shielding. The effective nuclear charge (Zeff) experienced by an electron is calculated as Zeff = Z - σ, where Z is the atomic number and σ is the shielding constant. While the energy of an electron is proportional to Z2/n2, the energy required to remove an electron does not continuously increase with atomic number due to shielding effects of inner electrons.