Determining # of Subshells in an Orbital
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Determining # of Subshells in an Orbital
I know that s orbitals have 1 subshell, p orbitals have 3 subshells, d orbitals have 5, and f orbitals have 7 subshells, but how are these numbers determined? Is there a specific formula that we should know to calculate the number of subshells or is it just supposed to be common knowledge?
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Re: Determining # of Subshells in an Orbital
Subshells, aka the angular momentum quantum number, are represented by the letter l. We calculate l by taking our principle quantum number n, and subtracting one from it. l=n-1. Then, to calculate how many orbitals are in the subshell, we take the value of l and all numbers equal to and in between the value of l and its negative value dictate how many orbitals the subshell has. For example, =2, then ml is equal to -2, -1, 0, +1, +2. And there are five values, so that tells us that there are five different orbitals for the subshell d. You can refer to Figure 1D.3 of the textbook for a diagram of what I just tried to explain. Hope this helps!
Re: Determining # of Subshells in an Orbital
Yeah its something that we just memorize because were in the basic level of chemistry, but I think that its based off the number of workable answers to the psi function for each orbital.
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