Definition of Orbital



An orbital describes the location of those electrons which are present around the atom and this description is three-dimensional. When the bonds are formed between the atoms of the molecule, the orbitals get combined with one another. There are four different types of orbitals in an atom. The orbitals are named s, p, d, and f. The full forms of these are sharp, principle, diffused, and fundamental respectively.

 


The orbitals get combined in the shells of the atoms. In the first shell (n = 1), there are only s orbitals whereas, in the second shell, one can find both s and p orbitals. These orbitals are a part of the empirical theory that is responsible for explaining the molecular structure and bonding.

 

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