z

orbitals. That is, as n increases, the z

orbital becomes larger, the electron
spends more time farther from the x
nucleus, and the atom’s energy level x
increases. Therefore, n specifies the
atom’s major energy levels, called prin- y
y
cipal energy levels. An atom’s lowest
principal energy level is assigned a prin-
cipal quantum number of one. When the a 1s orbital 2s orbital
hydrogen atom’s single electron occu-
pies an orbital with n = 1, the atom is in
z z z
its ground state. Up to seven energy lev-
els have been detected for the hydrogen
atom, giving n values ranging from 1 x
to 7. x x
Principal energy levels contain
y y
energy sublevels. Principal energy y
level 1 consists of a single sublevel,
principal energy level 2 consists of two px py pz
sublevels, principal energy level 3 con- b p orbitals
sists of three sublevels, and so on. To
better understand the relationship Figure 5-15
between the atom’s energy levels and sublevels, picture the seats in a wedge- Atomic orbitals represent the
shaped section of a theater, as shown in Figure 5-14. As you move away from electron probability clouds of an
the stage, the rows become higher and contain more seats. Similarly, the atom’s electrons. a The spheri-
cal 1s and 2s orbitals are shown
number of energy sublevels in a principal energy level increases as n increases.
here. All s orbitals are spherical
Sublevels are labeled s, p, d, or f according to the shapes of the atom’s in shape and increase in size
orbitals. All s orbitals are spherical and all p orbitals are dumbbell shaped; with increasing principal quan-
however, not all d or f orbitals have the same shape. Each orbital may con- tum number. b The three
tain at most two electrons. The single sublevel in principal energy level 1 con- dumbbell-shaped p orbitals are
sists of a spherical orbital called the 1s orbital. The two sublevels in principal oriented along the three per-
pendicular x, y, and z axes. Each
energy level 2 are designated 2s and 2p. The 2s sublevel consists of the 2s of the p orbitals related to an
orbital, which is spherical like the 1s orbital but larger in size. See energy sublevel has equal
Figure 5-15a. The 2p sublevel consists of three dumbbell-shaped p orbitals energy.
of equal energy designated 2px, 2py, and 2pz. The subscripts x, y, and z merely
designate the orientations of p orbitals along the x, y, and z coordinate axes,
as shown in Figure 5-15b.
Principal energy level 3 consists of three sublevels designated 3s, 3p, and Figure 5-16
3d. Each d sublevel consists of five orbitals of equal energy. Four d orbitals Four of five equal-energy d
have identical shapes but different orientations. However, the fifth, dz2 orbital orbitals have the same shape.
is shaped and oriented differently from the other four. The shapes and orien- Notice how the dxy orbital lies in
the plane formed by the x and y
tations of the five d orbitals are illustrated in Figure 5-16. The fourth prin- axes, the dxz orbital lies in the
cipal energy level (n ! 4) contains a fourth sublevel, called the 4f sublevel, plane formed by the x and z
which consists of seven f orbitals of equal energy. axes, and so on. The dz 2 orbital
has it own unique shape.
z
z z z z
y
y y y x

x y
x x x

dxy dxz dyz dx 2"y 2 dz2

5.2 Quantum Theory and the Atom 133