Correct arrangement of orbital according to size of hybridized orbitals?
Correct answer: D. sp3 > sp2 > sp
- A. sp > sp2 > sp3
- B. sp3 > sp > sp2
- C. sp2 > sp > sp3
- D. sp3 > sp2 > sp
Explanation
The greater the s character, the closer the orbital is held to the nucleus and the smaller it is, and s character rises from 25 per cent in sp3 through 33 per cent in sp2 to 50 per cent in sp. So sp3 is the largest and sp the smallest. The same trend explains why an sp carbon holds its bonding electrons most tightly, making terminal alkynes weakly acidic.
This question appeared on the UHS MDCAT 2025 paper, which you can sit online with every answer explained.
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About Hybridization
Hybridization explains bonding by combining atomic orbitals to form equivalent hybrid orbitals with definite geometries. Coverage includes sp, sp², sp³, sp³d and sp³d² hybridization, their shapes and bond angles, and the relation of sigma and pi bonds to molecular structure.
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