px, py, and pz corresponding to ml?

[aviary17]

Hi. Something I learned in high school once haunts me because I am not sure if it is true or not. Is it necessarily true that ml=-1 corresponds with px, 0 to py, and 1 to pz? Also, is it true that -1 (or px) fills first, meaning, for example, that ground-state Boron has an electron in the px orbital, but not the py or pz.

Thanks

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[fileserver]

The p orbitals should be degenerous? so I would guess that the electron can be in either 3. Idk plus I think it's too complicate to be on the MCAT.

 

[chemnerd31]

It is true px, py, and pz are degenerate and therefore all have an equal chance of getting the electron. the x,y, and z are only put there for our convience so we can talk about a p orbital and the direction it is pointed but energeticall all are degenerate in a free atom.