Question

Which of the following combination of statements is true regarding the interpretation of the atomic orbitals?

i. an electron in an orbital of high angular momentum stays away from the nucleus than an electron in the orbital of lower angular momentum.
ii. for a given value of the principal quantum number, the size of the orbit is inversely proportional to the azimuthal quantum number.
iii. according to wave mechanics, the ground state angular momentum is equal to h 2 .
iv. the plot of vs r for various azimuthal quantum number, shows peak shifting towards higher r value.

(a) i, iii
(b) ii, iii
(c) i, ii
(d) i, iv

Answer 1

In the context of atomic orbitals, electrons in orbitals with higher angular momentum are generally found further from the nucleus compared to lower angular momentum orbitals, and orbitals with higher azimuthal quantum numbers show peaks at higher r-values. Option number d is correct.

Step-by-step explanation:

When interpreting atomic orbitals, the following statements are true:

• An electron in an orbital of high angular momentum generally stays further away from the nucleus than an electron in an orbital of lower angular momentum, which is consistent with statement i.
• For a given principal quantum number (n), the size of the orbital is not strictly inversely proportional to the azimuthal quantum number (l); thus, statement ii is incorrect.
• The ground state angular momentum according to wave mechanics is not equal to h/2, but instead it is 0; hence, statement iii is false.
• The plot of ψ^2 vs r for various azimuthal quantum numbers (l) does show a peak shifting towards higher r-values for orbitals with higher l-values (e.g., s < p < d < f), supporting statement iv.

The correct combination that represents true statements about the interpretation of atomic orbitals is therefore option (d): i, iv.