Table of Contents
Degenerate Orbitals and their Concerned Principles
Degenerate orbitals, the energy of the electron in an atom is the same in all orbitals. This occurs when the Pauli exclusion principle forbids any two electrons from having the same quantum state. In this situation, the electron cloud is more diffuse, and the atom has a lower ionization energy.
Hund’s Maximum Multiplication Rule
Hund’s Maximum Multiplication Rule states that the product of two identical sine waves is the sum of the individual waves multiplied by their respective amplitudes.
What is Hund’s Rule?
Hund’s Rule is a rule in quantum mechanics which states that in a degenerate energy level, the most stable electron configuration will be the one with the greatest number of unpaired electrons.
Postulates of Hund’s Rule:
- Electrons occupy degenerate orbitals in order of increasing energy.
- The maximum number of electrons that can occupy an orbital is two.
- When two electrons occupy the same orbital, they must have opposite spins.
A description of Hund’s Rule
Hund’s Rule states that the lowest energy state of a molecule is the one with the most unpaired electrons. This rule is named after Wolfgang Hund, who proposed it in the early 1900s.
What is the Aufbau Principle?
The Aufbau Principle is a principle in quantum mechanics which states that the ground state of a system is lowest in energy.
Degenerate Orbitals Example
The electronic configuration of carbon is 1s2 2s2 2p2. The two 2p orbitals are degenerate.
Explanation of Degenerate Orbitals with Diagram
The 2p orbitals on the left side of the diagram are degenerate. This means that they have the same energy and can hold the same number of electrons. The 2p orbitals on the right side of the diagram are not degenerate. This means that they have different energies and can hold different numbers of electrons.
