The Shape of Orbitals
Orbitals
- We have seen before that the total number of electrons that each subshell in each orbital can hold are:
- s : one orbital (1 x 2 = total of 2 electrons)
- p : three orbitals ( 3 x 2 = total of 6 electrons)
- d : five orbitals (5 x 2 = total of 10 electrons)
- f : seven orbitals (7 x 2 = total of 14 electrons)
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- The orbitals have specific 3-D shapes
s orbital shape
- The s orbitals are spherical in shape
- The size of the s orbitals increases with increasing shell number
- E.g. the s orbital of the third quantum shell (n = 3) is bigger than the s orbital of the first quantum shell (n = 1)
p orbital shape
- The p orbitals have a dumbbell shape
- Every shell has three p orbitals except for the first one (n = 1)
- The p orbitals occupy the x, y and z axes and point at right angles to each other, so are oriented perpendicular to one another
- The lobes of the p orbitals become larger and longer with increasing shell number
Representation of orbitals (the dot represents the nucleus of the atom) showing spherical s orbitals (a), p orbitals containing ‘lobes’ along the x, y and z axis
- Note that the shape of the d orbitals is not required
An overview of the shells, subshells and orbitals in an atom