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CHEM 121 Studioby Learn4Less · UBC CHEM 121

CHEM 121 glossary

s orbital

An orbital with l=0l = 0: spherical around the nucleus, with no angular nodes. Each shell has exactly one, and it has n−1n - 1 radial nodes.

s orbitalAn s orbital is a sphere centred on the nucleus: the electron is equally likely in every direction. Larger n gives a larger sphere.1s2s (larger)spherical: same in every direction

Example

1s has no nodes; 2s is larger and has one spherical radial node; 3s has two.

See alsop orbitalRadial nodeAtomic orbital