Which of the following orbitals has the highest energy?
Practice Questions
1 question
Q1
Which of the following orbitals has the highest energy?
1s
2s
2p
3s
The 3s orbital has the highest energy among the given options due to its higher principal quantum number.
Questions & Step-by-step Solutions
1 item
Q
Q: Which of the following orbitals has the highest energy?
Solution: The 3s orbital has the highest energy among the given options due to its higher principal quantum number.
Steps: 5
Step 1: Understand what an orbital is. An orbital is a region in an atom where there is a high probability of finding electrons.
Step 2: Know that orbitals are categorized by their principal quantum number (n). The principal quantum number indicates the energy level of the orbital.
Step 3: Identify the principal quantum numbers of the orbitals in the options. For example, 1s has n=1, 2s has n=2, and 3s has n=3.
Step 4: Compare the principal quantum numbers. The higher the number, the higher the energy of the orbital.
Step 5: Conclude that the 3s orbital has the highest principal quantum number (n=3) among the options, which means it has the highest energy.
