hybridization of an atom

[Emely Reyna 1F]

Some questions on the UA’s worksheets ask to find the hybridization of an atom, for example Cl.

I’m a bit confused on exactly what hybridization is and how I can find it based on the shape ClF3 the question asks to draw.

[Dennisse Diaz 1D]

Hybridization is the concept of mixing atomic orbitals into new hybrid orbitals (with different energies, shapes, etc., than the component atomic orbitals) suitable for the pairing of electrons to form chemical bonds in valence bond theory.

[Marina Souliman 1K]

In order to figure out the hybridization of ClF3 you first have to figure out the VSEPR structure to see how many "things" are around the central atom. For ClF3 it is T-shape and has the formula AX3E2. From there you can figure out the hybridization of ClF3 by counting off the orbitals until you reach 5 total orbitals which leads you to the answer sp3d. There's one s orbital, 3 p orbitals and 1 d orbital all equaling up to 5.