Question

Suppose your friend said, "Atomic orbitals are the parts of the atom that contain the electrons." Why is this statement not correct? How would you correctly explain the relationship between atomic orbitals and electrons?

Answer 1

Electrons are always moving. They spin very quickly around the nucleus of an atom. As the electrons zip around, they can move in any direction, as long as they stay in their shell. Any direction you can imagine — upwards, downwards, or sidewards — electrons can do it. Electrons are constantly spinning in those atomic shells and those shells, or orbitals, are specific distances from the nucleus. If you are an electron in the first shell, you are always closer to the nucleus than the electrons in the second shell.

Answer 2

The statement is incorrect because an atomic orbital is a mathematical function that is used to calculate the probability of finding an electron in a certain region of space. The location and energy of an electron is determined by a set of quantum numbers, n which represents the energy level of the electron, l which represents the angular momentum, $m_l$ which represents magnetic quantum number and $m_s$ describes the spin of the electron. Therefore the electron can be found on s,p.d,f orbital based on this quantum numbers. So the atomic orbital gives a probable region where the electron can be found as opposed to it being a definite location of the electron.