Orbitals

[Lily Mohtashami]

How come in lecture Dr. Lavelle says when n is 2, l can be 0,1, or 2. I thought l had to be n-1 so shouldn't l only be 1 if n is 2?

[Sophia Spungin 2E]

I believe that he was demonstrating that the upper bound of l is n-1. It can take on any possible values from 0 to n-1, with n-1 being the upper bound value. I don't think that if n=2 l could equal 1, but it could equal 0 or 1.

This is a chart that I used to better understand it. When n=3, l can have any value up to n-1.

[Alan Huang 1E]

Hm, I'm not sure that's correct? Maybe Dr. Lavelle misspoke but when n = 2, l should be only equal to 0 or 1 since l's upper bound is l = n-1. However, I may be incorrect.

[LeanneBagood_2F]

I believe that he was demonstrating that the upper bound of l is n-1. It can take on any possible values from 0 to n-1, with n-1 being the upper bound value. I don't think that if n=2 l could equal 1, but it could equal 0 or 1.

This is a chart that I used to better understand it. When n=3, l can have any value up to n-1.

Thank you so much for providing this chart! I saw it in the lecture but was unsure how to find it on my own.

I notice that on the side they provide images of the shapes (?) of the orbitals? Do they correspond to the n-values they are next to? If so, do the n-values sort of determine the dimension (ie 2-Dimensional, 3-Dimensional) of the orbitals?

[Sofia Lombardo 2C]

I believe that he was demonstrating that the upper bound of l is n-1. It can take on any possible values from 0 to n-1, with n-1 being the upper bound value. I don't think that if n=2 l could equal 1, but it could equal 0 or 1.

This is a chart that I used to better understand it. When n=3, l can have any value up to n-1.

Thank you so much for providing this chart! I saw it in the lecture but was unsure how to find it on my own.

I notice that on the side they provide images of the shapes (?) of the orbitals? Do they correspond to the n-values they are next to? If so, do the n-values sort of determine the dimension (ie 2-Dimensional, 3-Dimensional) of the orbitals?

The n-values correspond to the energy level. The l-values (angular momentum) describes the shape of an orbital. For example, if n = 3 then l can be 0 (s), 1 (p), 2 (d), all of which have different shapes. So the shape of the orbital depends on the angular momentum.

Hope this helps!

[David Liu 1E]

it's always n-1, and I'm sure where in lecture he stated that, but it should only be for the 0 and 1 orbitals, and not the second!

[AHUNT_1A]

I believe that he was demonstrating that the upper bound of l is n-1. It can take on any possible values from 0 to n-1, with n-1 being the upper bound value. I don't think that if n=2 l could equal 1, but it could equal 0 or 1.

This is a chart that I used to better understand it. When n=3, l can have any value up to n-1.

Thank you so much for providing this chart! I saw it in the lecture but was unsure how to find it on my own.

I notice that on the side they provide images of the shapes (?) of the orbitals? Do they correspond to the n-values they are next to? If so, do the n-values sort of determine the dimension (ie 2-Dimensional, 3-Dimensional) of the orbitals?

The n-values correspond to the energy level. The l-values (angular momentum) describes the shape of an orbital. For example, if n = 3 then l can be 0 (s), 1 (p), 2 (d), all of which have different shapes. So the shape of the orbital depends on the angular momentum.

Hope this helps!

Thank you so much. Extremely helpful