What is the maximum number of electrons that can occupy the 3rd electron shell?

The first shell can hold up to two electrons, the second shell can hold up to eight (2 + 6) electrons, the third shell can hold up to 18 (2 + 6 + 10) and so on.
The general formula is that the nth shell can in principle hold up to 2(n2) electrons.

Ohm's law tells you that i = v/r where v is equivalent voltage and r is equivalent resistance of the circuit
since all circuits have the same voltage, your question is really asking which circuit has the lowest total resistance, since the lower the resistance, the higher the current
circuit a has a resistance of 5 ohms; circuit c is in series so has a resistance of 10 ohms; circuit b is in parallel and therefore has a resistance of 2.5 ohms (review your notes on adding resistances in parallel and series); therefore b has the highest current