How does Phosphorous have a d state?

[Quinn W 2A]

Today in lecture Lavelle talked about how Phosphorous can have more than an octet because it has a d state. Can someone explain how this is possible?

[Nathan Sigel 2k]

Phosphorus can have a d state as it is in the 3rd row of the periodic table. If you recall from quantum, being in the 3rd row of the periodic table means that phosphourus' n value is 3. This means that it can have an l value of up to 2. If the element has an l value of 2, there exists a d orbital that electrons can reside. It's a little confusing at first, but it really all boils down to the fact that phosphorus normally would not use its d orbital except when creating stable bonds.

[Maeve Settle 2B]

Since phosphorous is in the n= 3 state, it technically has 3d orbitals that are not being used in the lone atom. However, that space is available to take up electrons if necessary in bonding. Thus, the octet rule can be broken once we reach n=3 due to these available d orbitals.

[Alekhya_Pantula_2E]

Hi! If you remember the sub shell d has 5 orbitals and can hold up to 10 electrons, but since that sub shell isn't completely full with the electron configuration of P, the d sub shell can take on more electrons if needed.

[Aneesha_Nema_3C]

Phosphorus has a d-orbital because it's in the 3rd row of the period table. This means that n = 3, so l can be 0, 1, or 2. This implies that even though phosphorus in its ground state only fills up the p orbital with electrons, it still has access to the 3d orbital.

[Ruiyu Li 3I]

Phosphorus belongs to period 3. n for all elements in period 3 is 3, so the values of l can be 0, 1, 2, which correspond to s, p, d subshells. The elements in period 3 will fill the electrons in s and p orbitals first in their ground state. If there are more electrons, they are able to accommodate them in their d orbitals.

[Megan Cai 1H]

Hi! Although 3d is not included in P's ground state electron configuration, when P reacts with other atoms, the 3d subshell can be open for bonding since they are in the same energy level.