Atomic Orbitals

Question

Which of the following orbitals does not exist?

RankGuru · Accepted Answer

The existence of an orbital is determined by the constraint $l < n$.
- **3d**: $n=3, l=2 \implies 2 < 3$ (Exists)
- **2d**: $n=2, l=2 \implies$ Not allowed, since $l$ must be less than $2$ ($0$ or $1$)
- **4f**: $n=4, l=3 \implies 3 < 4$ (Exists)
- **5s**: $n=5, l=0 \implies 0 < 5$ (Exists)
Thus, a '2d' orbital is theoretically impossible as the second shell only has 's' ($l=0$) and 'p' ($l=1$) subshells.

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Atomic Orbitals

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