ORBITAL DIAGRAM

• An atomic orbital is a region around the nucleus

  of an atom where there is a high probability of finding an

  electron with a given energy.
• s-orbital (s for sharp) – It is a spherical cloud that becomes less dense as the distance from the

  nucleus increases.
• p-orbital (p for principal) – It is a dumbbell-shaped cloud, having two lobes on opposite sides

  of the nucleus.
• d-orbital (d for diffused) – It is like a four-leaf clover, as an hour and as a ring. Its shapes are

  more complicated than the orbitals in the s- and p-orbitals.
• f-orbital (f for fundamental) – the f-orbitals are difficult to represent and too complex to visualize

  among them. There are seven f-orbitals that have a complex appearance.
• Quantum numbers describe an electron in an orbit or atomic orbital, the region in space where

  the electron is most likely to be found in an atom.
• Principal quantum number (n) - designates the energy level of each atomic orbital in which

  the electron moves. It also determines the average distance of electrons from the nucleus.