Px, Py, Pz orbitals

[Reece Fong 2k]

Why do we classify the orbitals in the P subshell as Px, Py, and Pz? Is this the same for the D Subshell?

[Sophia Olender 2J]

The x, y, and z indicate the orientation of the orbital in space. P-orbitals are shaped like a dumbbell with two lobes. Therefore, the px orbital lies along the x-axis, the py orbital lies along the y-axis, and the pz orbital lies along the z-axis. The d-orbitals can also be distinguished this way, but I doubt we need to know this because it never came up in any book or hw problems. There are 5 d-orbitals. 3 have 4 lobes located in xy-yz-zx-planes (dxy, dyz, dzx), 1 is located along the x and y axis (dx2-y2), and 1 is located along the z-axis and a donut in the xy-plane (dz2). I recommend googling a picture of this because it's kind of confusing to imagine it in your head.

[Arjan G 2H]

Hi! Because the p subshell consists of 3 orbitals, each orbital is labeled Px, Py, and Pz. And for the d orbital, there are 5 orbitals, which have their own labels. The names for the orbitals in the "d" subshell are dxy, dyz, dxz, dx2–y 2, and dz2. Essentially each orbital holds a maximum of 2 electrons, and because the P subshell has 3 orbitals, it can hold up to 6 electrons. And because the d subshell has five orbitals, it can hold up to 10 electrons. Essentially, these labels are to signify each orbital within a given subshell, whether it be p or d. I hope this helps!

[105719095]

How do we distinguish px,py,pz from the electron configuration? Would we need to know how to distinguish each p orbital into px,py,pz for the midterm?

[Arya Bhalla 1H]

The x,y, and z represent the orientation of the orbital in space, so they are basically a way to divide a subshell into orbitals. Just remember that an orbital will correspond to a specific orientation in space. For the d subshell I don't think the subscripts would be simply x,y, and z because the d subshell has 5 orbitals and some of them correspond to planes and not just axes.

[105605391]

Each of the designated x,y,z states is in reference to the orientation of the electron that being +1/2 or -1/2. Also to note as additional electrons are added we see a filling of each position with an electron oriented in the same way for the first three spots before repeating in the opposite direction. This principle helps to explain why oxygen's first ionization energy is lower than nitrogen.

[Carmen Kim 3I]

Hi,
We classify the orbitals in the P subshell as Px, Py, and Pz due to the orbital in space. Px would be one of the orbitals oriented along the x-axis, Py would be the one oriented along the y-axis, and Pz would be the one oriented along the z-axis. However, the d subshell has five orbitals, while the p subshell has three orbitals.

[Claire Kim 1F]

Why do we classify the orbitals in the P subshell as Px, Py, and Pz? Is this the same for the D Subshell?

For the P subshell, there are 3 orbitals. For the D subshell, there are 5 orbitals. The Px, Py, and Pz represent the different orbitals for the P subshell. That means that for the D subshell they are not classified as Px, Py, Pz (that's only three).