Shapes of subshell??

  Electrons within an atom can be assessed according to the shell, subshell, and orbital to which they are assigned. These assessments are based on the quantum mechanical model. Shells are numbered as n=1,2,3,4, etc. and increase in size and energy as they get further away from the nucleus.

      Shells can be subdivided into subshells. The maximum number of subshells is equivalent to the shell number. For example, when n=1 (first shell), only one subshell is possible and when n=2 (second shell), two subshells are possible.

      There are four different types of subshells. These various types of subshells are denoted by the letters s, p, d, and f. Each subshell has a maximum number of electrons which it can hold: s - 2 electrons, p - 6 electrons, d - 10 electrons, and f - 14 electrons. The s subshell is the lowest energy subshell and the f subshell is the highest energy subshell.

     As was mentioned previously, the shell number is equal to the possible number of subshells. Thus, when n=1, the only subshell possible is the 1s subshell. When n=2, two subshells are possible the 2s and 2p. When n=3, three subshells are possible the 3s, 3p, and 3d. This means that in the first shell only two electrons are possible and they would be found in the 1s (2 electrons) subshell. In the second shell, 8 electrons are possible and would be found in the 2s (2 electrons) and the 2p (6 electrons) subshells.

     Each subshell is further divided into orbitals. An orbital is defined as a region of space in which an electron can be found. Only two electrons are possible per orbital. Thus, the s subshell may contain only one orbital and the p subshell may contain three orbitals.

     Each orbital has its own distinct shape. An s orbital found in a s subshell is spherical, p orbitals found in p subshells are two-lobed, and d orbitals found in d subshells are four-lobed. Since d and f orbitals do not play an important role in organic chemistry, they will not be discussed further. 

     Since there are three possible orbitals per p subshell, each orbital adopts its own orientation. The p_x orbital lies along the x axis, the p_y orbital lies along the y axis, and the p_z orbital lies along the z axis.