Question

5.
Differentiate between orbit and Orbital?​

Answer 1

Orbit

••An orbit is a fixed path on which electrons revolve around the nucleus.

••An orbit is a planar representation, i.e., a two dimensional representation

••An orbit is non-directional in nature which means the shape of an atom cannot be described by an orbit.

••An orbit does not follow the theory of Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle. Orbits follow the principles of Bohr-Sommerfeld’s theory.

••An orbit can accommodate 2n2 electrons where n represents the number of the orbit or the shell. For example, K shell represents the 1st orbit, L shell represents the 2nd one.

Orbital

••An orbital is the probable area of finding the maximum density of electrons in an atom

••An orbital is a three dimensional representation

••While an orbital can describe the shape of an atom thus is directional in nature.

••An orbital follows the theory of Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle.

••An orbital can accommodate the maximum of two electrons only in its sub-levels. The s orbital has only one sub-level, so it can contain only 2 electrons. But the p orbital has 3 sub-levels and thus it can contain upto 6 electrons.