Shapes of s-orbitals

Shapes of s-orbitals.

 

The orbitals for which l = 0 are called s-orbitals. For l = 0 there is only one possible orientation as ml  has only one value i.e. mi = 0. This means that the probability of finding the electron at a particular distance from the nucleus is the same in all directions. In other words, the electron distribution in s-orbitals is spherically symmetrical ( around the nucleus ).

The 2s orbital has also the same shape as the 1s orbital but its size is larger than 1s orbital.

There is an important difference between the shapes of 1s and 2s orbitals. There is a spherical shell within the 2s orbital where the electron density is zero. This is known as a Node.