X,Y,and Z in reference to 3p orbital

[Sophia_Kiessling_2L]

How do you know when to use 3x, y, or z in reference to quantum numbers? Dr. Lavelle said that the state for the quantum numbers (3,1,0) was 3py but I don't understand why it is y.

[Hovik Mike Mkryan 2I]

Hello,
To my understanding, there are 3 orbitals for 3p and they are labelled as x,y and z. n=3 gives us the third shell. l=1 gives us that it is respect to sub-shell p and m-sub(l) values are -1,0,1. The problems specifically only writes the m sub(l)=0. This means that it is specifically talking about the middle or second orbital in the 3p, which is the y. Hope this helped!

[gwynlu1L]

yes, typically during your homework problems you can assume that for the p-orbitals, if ml=-1 it is px, if ml=0 it is py and if it is ml=1 it is pz. This just helps to distinguish which specific p orbitals are filled.

[Erin Kim 2G]

ml= -1 would be px
ml= 0 would be py
ml= 1 would be pz

[Athena L 1B]

What does the p actually refer to?

[Sophia_Kiessling_2L]

What does the p actually refer to?

The p refers the the p orbital