How many lobes does a single sp3 hybrid orbital have?

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Answer 1 · 2016-09-09T14:43:40

A single #sp^3# orbital has two lobes.

An #sp^3# orbital has both #s# character and #p# character.

Thus, like an #s# orbital, it has a lobe that resembles a sphere.

And, like a #p# orbital, it has 2 lobes and a nodal surface.

sp3
(From saylordotorg.github.io)

The big lobe (blue) is nearly spherical and represents the #s# character of the orbital.

The smaller lobe (yellow) and the nodal surface represent the #p# character of the orbital.

We usually draw the big lobe with a teardrop shape for convenience, but it is really much fatter than a teardrop.