What does an sp2 orbital look like?

1 Answer
Ernest Z.
Dec 14, 2016

An #"sp"^2# orbital looks like a stubby mushroom.

Explanation:

There are three #"sp"^2# orbitals, each formed by the combination of a #"2s"# orbital and two #"2p"# orbitals.

They are all the same shape, and they point toward the corners of an equilateral triangle.

sp2
(From 2012 Book Archive)

An #"sp"^2# orbital resembles both an #"s"# and a #"p"# orbital.

The big lobe is roughly spherical like an #"s"# orbital, and the two lobes are separated by a nodal surface like a #"p"# orbital.

For convenience, we often draw an #"sp"^2# orbital with an elongated teardrop shape and even omit the small lobe, but that is not the real shape of the orbital.

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