The shape of a p orbital is
- A. spherical
- B. dumbbell shaped
- C. doughnut shaped
- D. tetrahedral
Explanation
A p orbital has two lobes on opposite sides of the nucleus with a node at the nucleus itself, giving the familiar dumbbell shape, and the three p orbitals lie along the x, y and z axes. Spherical shape belongs to the s orbital. Tetrahedral describes a molecular geometry rather than the shape of a single orbital.