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experimentation; it is the basis for orbital hybridization. As s orbitals are spherical (and have no directionality) and p orbitals are oriented 90° to each other, a theory was needed to explain why molecules such as methane (CH₄) had observed bond angles of 109.5°. Pauling proposed that s and p orbitals on the carbon atom can combine to form hybrid orbitals (sp³ in the case of methane)

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