Name: Dual Nature of Light and Matter
Uploaded: 2019-07-19
Duration: 7 min 31 s
Description: Light has a dual nature. It is both a wave and a particle. Explore this video about the wave and particle nature of light and the wavelength corresponding to...

Question

Define atomic orbital. Explain the shapes of

s, p

and

d

orbitals with the help of diagrams.

Accepted Answer

An atomic orbital is the wave-function ( $ψ$ ) of an electron in an atom. Whenever an electron is described by a wave-function, it occupies atomic orbital. Each wave-function or atomic orbital have some shape and energy associated with it.

According to the German physicist, Max Born, the square of the wave function ( $ψ^{2}$ ) at a point gives the probability density of the electron at that point. The variation of $ψ^{2}$ as a function of $r$ for $1 s$ is given below.

Here, it shows that for $1 s$ orbital the probability density is maximum at the nucleus and it decreases sharply as we move away from it and its shape comes out to be spherical.

Similarly, we get dumbbell shaped p-orbitals and double dumbbell shaped d-orbitals as shown below:

Define atomic orbital. Explain the shapes of $s, p$ and $d$ orbitals with the help of diagrams.

Important Questions on Atomic Structure

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