{"id":223719,"date":"2025-06-02T08:22:49","date_gmt":"2025-06-02T08:22:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/learnexams.com\/blog\/?p=223719"},"modified":"2025-06-02T08:22:50","modified_gmt":"2025-06-02T08:22:50","slug":"identify-the-orbital-shown-below","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/2025\/06\/02\/identify-the-orbital-shown-below\/","title":{"rendered":"Identify the orbital shown below"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Identify the orbital shown below: A) px B) py C) dz\u00b2 D) pz E) dxz<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Correct Answer and Explanation is:<\/mark><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Correct Answer: D) pz<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Explanation <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The image shows an orbital that has two lobes aligned along the z-axis<\/strong>, with a node (a region of zero probability) at the nucleus. This is the classic shape of a p-orbital<\/strong>. There are three p-orbitals in a given energy level (starting from n = 2), and they are designated as px, py, and pz<\/strong> depending on their orientation in space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • The px orbital<\/strong> is aligned along the x-axis.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • The py orbital<\/strong> is aligned along the y-axis.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • The pz orbital<\/strong>, which is the correct answer here, is aligned along the z-axis \u2014 as clearly shown in the image.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    P-orbitals are dumbbell-shaped<\/strong>, and their orientation is determined by their magnetic quantum number (m_l), which can be -1, 0, or +1. Each p-orbital is orthogonal (perpendicular) to the others, and they represent the probability distribution of an electron in that orientation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Now, let\u2019s examine why the other options are incorrect:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • A) px<\/strong>: This would show the dumbbell shape aligned along the x-axis, not the z-axis.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • B) py<\/strong>: This orbital would be aligned along the y-axis.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • C) dz\u00b2<\/strong>: While this orbital has a unique shape (a donut-shaped ring around a dumbbell), it is not what\u2019s shown here.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • E) dxz<\/strong>: This d-orbital has a four-lobed shape and lies in the xz plane \u2014 again, not what\u2019s shown.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      In summary, the image displays a simple p-orbital oriented vertically along the z-axis, which makes the correct identification pz<\/strong>. The understanding of orbital orientation is essential in chemistry for predicting molecular bonding, shape, and behavior of atoms in molecules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Identify the orbital shown below: A) px B) py C) dz\u00b2 D) pz E) dxz The Correct Answer and Explanation is: Correct Answer: D) pz Explanation The image shows an orbital that has two lobes aligned along the z-axis, with a node (a region of zero probability) at the nucleus. This is the classic shape […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-223719","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-exams-certification"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223719","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=223719"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223719\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=223719"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=223719"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=223719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}