Lesson: Atomic Orbitals Chemistry

Students will be able to

• define qualitatively what an atomic orbital is,
• recognize and identify the shapes of atomic orbitals,
• recall the number of atomic orbitals that exist for each subshell (e.g., 3 p orbitals, 5 d orbitals) and the number of electrons they can contain,
• connect atomic orbitals with quantum numbers describing an electron within an orbital,
• relate the valence atomic orbital(s) to an atom’s position on the periodic table,
• appreciate that molecular bonds form from the interaction (overlap) between atomic bonds.