How many spherical nodes are in a 3d_(xy) orbital?

1 Answer
May 20, 2017

A spherical node is otherwise known as a radial node. Radial nodes are given by

n - l - 1,

where n - 1 is the total number of nodes, and l is the number of angular nodes. (Ordinarily, n is the principal quantum number, and l is the angular momentum quantum number.)

So, the number of radial nodes is:

color(blue)(n - l - 1)

= 3 - 2 - 1 = color(blue)(0)

Hence, there are zero spherical nodes in the 3d_(xy) orbital.

How many angular nodes are there?