The number of given orbitals which have electron density along th… — Solution | JEE Chemistry

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The number of given orbitals which have electron density along the axis is:

$P_x$ , $P_y$ , $P_z$ , $d_{xy}$ , $d_{yz}$ , $d_{xz}$ , $d_{z^2}$ , $d_{x^2-y^2}$

Answer

Correct answer:5

Step-by-step solution

Standard Method

Given: The orbitals are $p_x, p_y, p_z, d_{xy}, d_{yz}, d_{xz}, d_{z^2}, d_{x^2-y^2}$ .

Find: The number of orbitals which have electron density along the axis.

From the given explanation, the axial orbitals are:

$p_x$
$p_y$
$p_z$
$d_{z^2}$
$d_{x^2-y^2}$

The orbitals $p_x, p_y,$ and $p_z$ have their lobes aligned along the corresponding coordinate axes. Also, $d_{z^2}$ and $d_{x^2-y^2}$ have electron density directed along the axes.

Therefore, the total number of such orbitals is $5$ .

Common mistakes

Counting $d_{xy}, d_{yz},$ and $d_{xz}$ as axial orbitals is incorrect because their electron density lies between axes, not along the axes. Instead, identify whether the lobes point directly on an axis or between axes.
Ignoring $d_{x^2-y^2}$ is a mistake because its lobes lie along the $x$ and $y$ axes. Check the orientation of each $d$ -orbital carefully before counting.
Treating only the $z$ -axis as 'the axis' is wrong here because the question asks about electron density along coordinate axes in general. Include orbitals aligned along the $x$ , $y$ , or $z$ axes.

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Step-by-step solution

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