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What does sp2 orbital mean?

Answer 1

#sp^2# is a hybrid of one #s# orbital and 2 #p# orbitals

#sp^2# orbitals are found in alkenes and each is a mixture of one #s# orbital and two #p# orbitals, which gives three #sp^2# orbitals.

They therefore have one-third #s# character and two-thirds #p# character. They all lie in the same plane and they form sigma bonds.

There will be one other p orbital not included in the hybridisation - this will form the pi-bond in an alkene.

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Answer 2

Nolan Allen

An sp2 orbital is a hybrid orbital formed by mixing one s orbital and two p orbitals from the same shell (n) of an atom. The resulting sp2 hybrid orbitals have a trigonal planar geometry with bond angles of approximately 120 degrees. These hybrid orbitals are commonly found in molecules with a double bond, such as in alkenes, and in molecules with trigonal planar geometry, such as in boron trifluoride (BF3).

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Answer from HIX Tutor

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.