Orbital

s orbitals

  • Orbitals per subshell: 1 ()
  • Electron capacity: 2 electrons
  • Shape: spherical shaped
  • Nodes:
    • Angular nodes =
    • Radial nodes =
  • Since the s orbitals penetrates the core better, s orbitals have higher effective energy than both p and d orbitals

p orbitals

  • Orbitals per subshell: 3 ()
  • Electron capacity: 6 electrons
  • Shape: dumbbell shaped
  • Nodes:
    • Angular nodes =
    • Radial nodes =
  • Similar to s orbitals, p orbitals also penetrate the core better having higher effective energy than d orbitals

d orbitals

  • Orbitals per subshell: 5 ()
  • Electron capacity: 10 electrons
  • Shapes: four cloverleaf-type or donut around a lobe
  • Nodes:
    • Angular nodes =
    • Radial nodes =

f orbitals

  • Orbitals per subshell: 7 ()
  • Electron capacity: 14 electrons
  • Shapes: complex multi-lobed forms
  • Nodes:
    • Angular nodes =
    • Radial nodes =
  • f orbitals tend to be more shielded by inner electrons and less involved in simple covalent bonding compared with valence s and p orbitals.

Nodes

A node is a region where the wave function changes sign and becomes zero
A node can either be angular or radial

The amount of angular nodes can be given by
The amount of radial nodes can be given by