• Electrons in an atom occupy regions known as orbitals, and these orbitals have shapes.

In this
lesson, we will discuss the secondary quantum number: the angular momentum quantum number,
which determines the shape of an orbital.
• Angular Momentum Quantum Number
• There are four quantum numbers that make up the address for an electron. Of the four quantum
numbers, our focus for this lesson is the angular momentum quantum number, which is also
known as the secondary quantum number or azimuthal quantum number.
• The angular momentum quantum number is a quantum number that describes the 'shape' of an
orbital and tells us which subshells are present in the principal shell. We can think about it this way:
each of our homes has its own architecture. In the subatomic level, the 'home' of electrons is an
orbital, and each orbital has its own shape. The symbol that is used when we refer to the angular
momentum quantum number looks like this:
• Electrons occupy a region called 'shells' in an atom. The angular momentum quantum number, l,
divides the shells into subshells, which are further divided into orbitals. Each value of lcorresponds
to a particular subshell. The lowest possible value for l is 0. This following table shows which
subshells correspond to the angular momentum quantum number:
• The angular momentum quantum number can also tell us how many nodes there are in an orbital.
A node is an area in an orbital where there is 0 probability of finding electrons. The value of l is
equal to the number of nodes. For example, for an orbital with an angular momentum of l = 3,
there are 3 nodes
• n this lesson, we'll discuss the magnetic quantum number - also known as the third quantum
number - subshells, and orbitals, and their relationships to one another. The magnetic quantum
number tells us about the orbital that an electron occupies - it determines how many orbitals there
are as well as their orientation within a subshell. Its symbol looks like this:
• In order to keep things clear going forward, let's review a few key terms. Orbitals are regions in
space that are occupied by electrons. To visualize this better, take a look at this illustration:
• The electrons are found in shells surrounding the nucleus. The shell that an electron occupies is
defined by the principal quantum number or the first quantum number. These shells are further
divided into subshells. Subshells can be s, p, d or f. The subshells that an electron occupies are
defined by the angular momentum quantum number or the secondary quantum number.
• These subshells are further divided into orbitals. This helps us further narrow down the location of
an electron. The four subshells (s, p, d, f) each have a specific number of orbitals. One orbital can
be occupied by a maximum of two electrons. We can think about an orbital as a room with two
twin beds: there is no bed for a third person, so the maximum occupancy for the room is two. This
table summarizes all of the information we just covered:
• Now that we have been reacquainted with the first and second quantum numbers and the essential
background information, we can now discuss the third quantum number, the magnetic quantum
number.
 – Spin Pairing Energy
– The Aufbau Process
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• LMS
• Donate
• The Spin Quantum Number (msms) describes the angular momentum of an
electron. An electron spins around an axis and has both angular momentum and
orbital angular momentum. Because angular momentum is a vector, the Spin
Quantum Number (s) has both a magnitude (1/2) and direction (+ or -).
• Each orbital can only hold two electrons. One electron will have a +1/2 spin and
the other will have a -1/2 spin. Electrons like to fill orbitals before they start to pair
up. Therefore the first electron in an orbital will have a spin of +1/2. After all the
orbitals are half filled, the electrons start to pair up. This second electron in the
orbital will have a spin of -1/2. If there are two electrons in the same orbital, it will
spin in opposite directions