Wiki Page, CHEM 109 General Chemistry I 41650: Lecture 35 Materials

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2020-11-19T17:43:21-08:00

In this lecture we will discuss orbital hybridization. Did you wonder why an atom with a steric number of 4 adopts a tetrahedral shape? Orbital hybridization is the answer! Hybridization is a concept from valence bond theory that orbitals, such as s and p orbitals, can combine together to make new hybrid orbitals with different energies and shapes, Here is an image of one s orbital combining with 3 p orbitals to make four new hybrid orbitals called sp³ orbitals. Notice that the total number of orbitals doesn't change and that the new orbitals are all of equivalent energy. This is why the four bonds of CH₄ are all identical length and energy.

Materials:

Chapter 9 lecture slides (slides 28-39)

Lecture 35 Attendance/Comprehension Quiz

No practice problems for this lecture