ml values

[Chelsea Culi 3F]

How do we know which ml values correspond with px, py, and pz?

[Cassidy Chiong 2J]

Hi!

I remember hearing in lecture that the corresponding values of mℓ to px, py, and pz are arbitrary. So, I believe that any mℓ value (-1,0,1) can correspond to px, py, and pz.

[Dongfang Tian 1L]

I searched the same question online before. As I could remember, for p-orbital, ml=-1 corresponds to px, ml=0 is py, and ml=1 is pz. More complex, for d-orbital, ml=-2 is dxy, ml=-1 is dxz, ml=0 is dyz, ml=1 is dx^2-y^2, and ml=2 is dz^2.
Hope this helps.

[Michelle_Duong_3H]

Hello,

For the p orbital, the available values of ml are -1, 0, 1. These correspond to px, py, and pz, respectively. However, Dr. Lavelle pointed out in lecture that this is not always what different textbooks use, and naming different subshells can be arbitrary.

Hope this helps!

[Mekenna Faulkner]

As far as I understand they correspond as listed. -1,0,1 is px,py,pz.

[Neha Jonnalagadda 2D]

In general, the px, py, and pz values are -1, 0, and 1 respectively.