CHEMISTRY COMMUNITY

I do not understand how hybrid combinations are derived. For instance, the 4 hybrid orbitals of sp³ are:

h₁ = s + p_x + p_y + p_z
h₂ = s - p_x - p_y + p_z
h₃ = s - p_x + p_y - p_z
h₄ = s + p_x - p_y - p_z

Are these fundamental? Will we be expected to know these for the midterm?

This is just saying that you get your four hybrid orbitals in the sp3 case by taking linear combinations of the atomic orbitals. Dr. Lavelle most likely expects you to use the number of regions of electron density to determine the hybridization, rather than thinking about it as linear combinations of atomic orbitals.

Great, thank you!