Question:
Which of the following orbitals are degenerate?
3dxy, 4dxy, 3dz2 , 3dyx, 4dyx, 4dzz
Solution:
The energy of orbitals depends on the principal quantum number or the main shell to a large extent. Hence, orbitals with an equal value of n will have the same levels of
energy and will be called degenerate orbitals.
Degenerate orbitals are 3dxy, 3dz2, 3dyx because they have the same main shell n = 3.
And 4dxy, 4dyx, 4dzz because they have the same value of n=4.