Hydrogenic Atoms
A hydrogenic atom contains this number of electrons.
one electron
This approximation treats each electron as occupying its own orbital.
orbital approximation
Valence bond theory treats electrons as this within bonds.
localized between atoms
Molecular orbitals are commonly formed through this method.
LCAO (linear combination of AO)
In homonuclear diatomics, orbitals formed from identical atoms have this property.
symmetry
These two components arise when separating the hydrogenic Schrödinger equation.
radial and angular components
This effect causes orbitals in many-electron atoms to no longer be degenerate.
shielding
This type of overlap forms a sigma bond.
head-on overlap
Electrons in molecular orbital theory are treated as this over the molecule.
delocalized
In heteronuclear diatomics, electrons are shared this way.
unequally
This quantum number primarily determines the energy of hydrogenic orbitals.
principal quantum number n
Electrons possess this intrinsic property responsible for magnetic behavior.
a spin
This bond forms from side-by-side overlap of orbitals.
a pi bond
Constructive overlap produces this type of molecular orbital.
bonding MO
The more electronegative atom contributes more strongly to this orbital type.
bonding MO
As distance from the nucleus increases, radial wavefunctions generally behave in this way.
exponential decay toward zero
No more than this number of electrons may occupy one orbital
2
This concept mixes atomic orbitals to explain bonding geometry
hybridization
Destructive overlap produces this type of molecular orbital.
antibonding MO
This principle states that the best approximate wavefunction gives the lowest possible energy.
variational principle
Orbitals with higher angular momentum penetrate the nucleus region this effectively.
less effectively
Electrons occupying degenerate orbitals prefer this spin arrangement first.
parallel spins
This principle explains why resonance structures together stabilize a molecule.
resonance stabilization/delocalization
This quantity predicts bond strength using bonding and antibonding electrons.
bond order
He₂ is unstable because these orbitals are equally occupied.
bonding and antibonding orbitals