Question

How many nodes are present in 3s, 3p, and 3d orbitals?

Answer 1

1. Orbital nodes: They are regions where the phase of the quantum mechanical wave function ($\psi$) and ${\psi }^2$ changes. At nodes, both $\psi$ and ${\psi }^2$ are zero because the phase is changing from positive to negative or vice versa.
2. The electron density is 0 when ${\psi }^2$ is zero. As a result, the electron density at a node is zero.
3. Rule for number of nodes: Nodes are always one less than the principal quantum number = n - 1.
4. n = 1 in the first electron shell. Thus, there are no nodes in the 1s orbital.
5. n = 2 in the second electron shell. There is only one node in the 2s and 2p orbitals.
6. n = 3 in the third electron shell. There are two nodes in the 3s, 3p, 3d orbitals.
7. Hence, there are two nodes in the 3s, 3p, and 3d orbitals.