atomic orbitals

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Top Highlights

• the orbital is in the energy level closest to the nucleus.

• 95% of the time (or any other percentage you choose), the electron will be found within a fairly easily defined region of space quite close to the nucleus.

• Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle says - loosely - that you can't know with certainty both where an electron is and where it's going next

• orbital.

• 1s orbital. The "1" represents the fact that

• shape of the orbital

• s orbitals are spherically symmetric around the nucleus

• 2s orbital.

• similar to a 1s orbital

• this is an orbital at the second energy level.

• further from the nucleus

• another region of slightly higher electron density

• nearer the nucleus.

• Electron density" is another way of talking about how likely you are to find an electron at a particular place.

• 2s (and 3s, 4s, etc) electrons spend some of their time closer to the nucleus

• effect of this is to slightly reduce the energy of electrons in s orbitals

• nearer the nucleus the electrons get, the lower their energy.

• Not all electrons inhabit s orbitals

• few electrons live in s orbitals

• At the first energy level, the only orbital available to electrons is the 1s orbital