Px Py Pz

[Madison Wong 3H]

During Lavelle's lecture on Friday, he kept referring to Px, Py, Pz and other x,y,z orbitals. I was confused on how he determines this, and what the symbols mean. Thanks!

[Crystal Yu 1D]

The x, y, and z are just meant to name the three different orbitals of the subshell P. I'm pretty sure Professor Lavelle said in lecture #10 that we would not have to know which one is x, y, and z unless it is stated in the problem, so I wouldn't stress too much about it! If you are curious though, the x,y, and z names reference the x,y, and z planes which make more sense if you find a 3D picture of the p orbital.

[Kailani_Dial_2K]

Essentially if you look at the diagram that he gave in lecture with the dumbell shapes for the P orbital you will notice 3 axis. There is an x, y, ans z axis. The orientation of the dumbell shape determines the name. OS if the dumbell is on the x axis then the electron is in the Px state , if it is on the y axis then then electron is in the Py state, and if it is on the z axis then the electron is in the Pz state. The names are just used to describe the orientation in which the electron is moving. I hope this helps.

[Gabriel Nitro 1E]

Hi,

In the context of electron configuration and orbitals, let's break down what "px, py, and pz" means. The "p" in front of each portion of the question indicates the subshell/state the electron is occupying. Thus, the electron is begin associated with the p-subshell/state. The "x, y, and z" refers to the orientation of the orbital in question in the three dimensional space. In other words, you would have three distinct p orbitals (of which are dumbbell shaped) which are aligned to the x, y, and z axis respectively.

Hope this helps! :)

[Rob Tsai 2F]

In three dimensions, there would be an x-,y-, and z-plane. Px, Py, and Pz simply designate which plane or axis that the orbital is on.