Question

In really simple/child-like terms, with some sophistication can someone explain orbital hybridizations and what the point of it is?

Answer 1

Hybridization is just so that the central atom in a molecule can form (or potentially form) multiple identical bonds with the outer atoms. It is done by mixing orbitals together and forming "hybrid orbitals" that are all identical in shape and bonding capability.

Here is an example of `sp^2` hybridization, using one `s` and two different `p` orbitals:

All three `sp^2` hybrid orbitals are the same shape, and allow for bonding in one plane, such as for the central atom in `"BF"_3`, `"AlCl"_3`, etc.

You can find a more in-depth answer to that here: https://socratic.org/questions/how-to-tell-if-an-element-needs-to-hybridize?source=search