A spherical electron cloud surrounding an atomic nucleus would best represent which of the following?

• A. the nucleus itself
• B. a p orbital
• C. a d orbital
• D. an s orbital

Answer: (D)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand that atomic orbitals describe regions in space where there is a high probability of finding an electron around the nucleus.
2. Recall that s orbitals are spherical in shape, meaning their electron cloud is symmetrically distributed around the nucleus in all directions.
3. Recognize that p orbitals have a dumbbell shape with two lobes, and d orbitals have more complex shapes with multiple lobes, so they are not spherical.
4. Since the problem describes a spherical electron cloud, it corresponds to the shape of an s orbital.
5. Therefore, the spherical electron cloud surrounding an atomic nucleus best represents an s orbital.