S-orbitals symmetry

[Anisha Chandra 1K]

How come s-orbitals are symmetrical but p-orbitals aren't? Aren't the 2 lobes of p-orbitals roughly the same? Can't an electron be found at any position in both types of orbitals?

[Aayush Patel 3B]

The s- orbital is symmetrical because it has no nodal planes. Therefore, there it has a symmetric e- potential distribution. The p- orbital has two lobes on either side of the nucleus, creating a nodal plane with a px, py, pz axes.

[Ethan Lam 4A]

The s-orbital is also symmetric because it has sphere properties.

[ahuang]

The sizes of the two lobes of the p orbitals are different sizes, so px, py, and pz are different

[Claire Stoecklein 1E]

Electrons in the s-orbital are equally likely to be found at any point in the sphere, therefore s-orbitals have symmetric probability distributions. A p-orbital shape itself is not asymmetric, but because the shape is not a sphere, an electron is more likely to be found further from the nuclear, so the probably distribution is not symmetrical.