Experimental evidence suggests that the nitrogen atom in ammonia, NH3, has four identical orbitals in the shape of a pyramid or tetrahedron.
Draw an energy-level diagram to show the formation of these hybrid orbitals. (Hint: No electron promotion is required.)
Name the type of hybrid orbitals found in NH3. Of the four hybrid orbitals on the N atom, how many will take part in bonding? Explain.
Draw for yourself the energy-level diagram showing the hybrid orbitals formed in the C atom when it bonds. Now look at those hybrid orbitals and those of the N atom, and describe how the bonding with a N atom will differ with the bonding that occurs with a C atom, even though both atoms have four hybrid orbitals oriented in a tetrahedral shape.