Explain in brief, the significance of azimuthal quantum number.

Azimuthal quantum number (l) :

• Azimuthal quantum number is also known as subsidiary quantum number and is represented by letter l.
• It represents the subshell to which the electron belongs. It also defines the shape of the orbital that is occupied by the electron.
• Its value depends upon the value of principal quantum number ‘n’. It can have only positive values between 0 and (n – 1).
• Atomic orbitals with the same value of ‘n’ but different values of ‘l’ constitute a subshell belonging to the shell for the given ‘n’ The azimuthal quantum number gives the number of subshells in a principal shell. The subshells have l to be 0, 1, 2,3 … which are represented by symbols s, p, d, f, … respectively