How many atomic orbitals are there in a g subshell?

1 Answer
Stefan V.
Apr 19, 2015

You can determine how many orbitals the g-subshell would have by using quantum numbers.

https://www.boundless.com/chemistry/textbooks/boundless-chemistry-textbook/introduction-to-quantum-theory-7

The angular momentum quantum number, or #l#, tells you the subshell in which an electron is located. The values of #l# correspond to

#l = 0 -># s-subshell;
#l = 1 -># p-subshell;
#l = 2 -># d-subshell;
#l = 3 -># f-subshell
#l = 4 -># g-subshell;

The type of orbitals a subshell contains is given by the magnetic quantum number, or #m_l#, which, as you can see, can take values ranging from #-l# to #+l#.

Since a g-subshell is described by an angular momentum quantum number equal to 4, you'll get a total of

#underbrace("-4, -3, -2, -1, 0 ,+1, +2, +3, +4")_(color(blue)("9 orbitals"))#

The equation that tells you the type of orbitals present in a subshell is

#m_l = 2l + 1#

Once again, the number of orbitals present in a g-subshell will be

#m_l = 2 * 4 + 1 = 9#

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