Hybrid orbitals???????? I don't understand!!?

Answer 1

Nobody really does. Carbon is the important element that does the hybrid orbital thing. Rather than having its 4 electrons with 2 in the s orbital, and 1 each in two p orbitals with an empty p orbital,
with a small amount of energy, the electrons can be changed in probabilistic orientation (and this is where everyone gets lost-remember any orbital is a representation of a high probability zone) to a different shapes for the purpose of forming single, double or triple bonds. Otherwise, such bonding could not occur. For example, sp3 orbitals indicate that ALL atomic orbitals have been changed into 4 hybrid orbitals, which orient the high probability space for one electron in each hybrid orbital to a corner of a tetrahedral pyramid.

Think of it as a football game. In order to pick up the most yards for a play, the players lineup differently than they would for a different play. Think of each lineup as a different set of hybrid orbitals.