Orbitals

A substance's atomic structure determines its behavior when it is part of an element or compound. Electrons occupy spaces around the nucleus, termed 'orbitals'. Each orbital can contain up to two electrons. Orbitals have a hierarchical arrangement. There are different types and shapes of orbitals: s, p, d, and f. There is only one kind of s orbital, but three kinds of p orbitals, five d orbitals, and seven f orbitals. A collection of orbitals of the same type includes a subshell, and a collection of subshells makes up a shell (also called an energy level). The first shell includes only one subshell (the s subshell) and consists of only one s orbital. The second shell consists of two subshells (an s and a p subshell) – the s subshell is made of one s orbital, and the p subshell is made of three p orbitals. Since different shells contain different numbers of orbitals, each shell can hold a different maximum number of electrons. Watch this lecture to learn about orbitals and review the structure of an atom. The lecturer visualizes orbitals like a planetary pathway in space. They discuss how the interactions of positive and negative charges (protons and electrons) create different energy levels or shells.