3s orbital has 2 radial nodes

Answer

To determine whether the statement "3s orbital has 2 radial nodes" is true or false, we can follow these steps:

### Step 1: Understand the concept of nodes
Nodes are points in an orbital where the probability of finding an electron is zero. There are two types of nodes: radial nodes and angular nodes. Radial nodes occur at specific distances from the nucleus, while angular nodes depend on the shape of the orbital.

### Step 2: Identify the quantum numbers
For the 3s orbital:
- The principal quantum number (n) is 3.
- The azimuthal quantum number (l) for s orbitals is 0.

### Step 3: Use the formula to calculate the number of nodes
The total number of nodes in an orbital can be calculated using the formula:
\[ \text{Number of nodes} = n - l - 1 \]

### Step 4: Substitute the values into the formula
For the 3s orbital:
- \( n = 3 \)
- \( l = 0 \)

Substituting these values into the formula gives:
\[ \text{Number of nodes} = 3 - 0 - 1 = 2 \]

### Step 5: Conclusion
Since we calculated that the 3s orbital has 2 nodes, and these nodes are radial nodes (as s orbitals only have radial nodes), we conclude that the statement "3s orbital has 2 radial nodes" is **true**.

### Summary of the Solution:
- The 3s orbital has 2 radial nodes based on the calculation using the formula \( n - l - 1 \).

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