n and l values

[Riley Joe 2K]

For l values will they always be n-1 or can they be anything that is lower than their n-1 value?

[Andy Nguyen 2K]

Hey Riley,
As a rule, we know that l=n-1. However our angular momentum number can be less than n-1. For example, if n=4, l, not only could it be 3 but it also could be 2,1,0, which corresponds to the d, p, and s orbital.

[Sandra Espinoza 3A]

To elaborate more on this topic, for the l values for s orbital it is 0, for p it is 1, for d it is 2. This is a trend/pattern we see with the orbitals and the L quantum number.