Outline 2: Objective #12

[Rylee Mangan 1K]

Can someone explain the information being asked in this objective
"Describe the interpretation of atomic orbitals in terms of probability."
Not sure what the probability part refers to
Thanks!

[LaurenChoi_1J]

I have the same question! I wasn't sure what this learning objective was referring to.

[Natalie Do 3F]

This refers to how the probability of finding an electron is a certain spot is equal to the square of the complicated math function

[Arieanne De Guzman 2J]

This objective is referring to how the wavefunction squared gives us the probability of finding an electron in a certain region!

Can someone explain the information being asked in this objective
"Describe the interpretation of atomic orbitals in terms of probability."
Not sure what the probability part refers to
Thanks!

[HannahRobinson3L]

Just to add on to this, it's a matter of probability because we cannot actually determine the location of electrons. Instead we use these functions (aka orbitals) to find the probability of finding the electron in a region, as mentioned earlier.

[MMorcus2E]

This relates to the idea of wavefunctions. The wavefunctions squared, which are complex math functions that we don't need to know, can tell us the probability of finding electrons in a certain orbital or energy level. It also helps us figure out where nodes, places where the probability of finding electrons is zero, are.

[Earl Garrovillo 2L]

Remember that atomic orbitals exist in 4 different shapes, or wave functions (s, p, d, f). We don't really know the exact position of an electron at any given point in time but by finding the square of the wave function, we can find the probability of finding an electron in a given orbital. It's hard to explain verbally but there are areas that are "dense" in orbitals where electrons are very likely to be found and areas that are less dense where it's still possible to find an electron but not as likely. Similarly, there are also places with little to no density at all where electrons extremely unlikely to be found.