Is It Time To Retire the Hybrid Atomic Orbital?

A rationale for the removal of the hybrid atomic orbital from the chemistry curriculum is examined. Although the hybrid atomic orbital model does not accurately predict spectroscopic energies, many chemical educators continue to use and teach the model despite the confusion it can cause for students. Three arguments for retaining the model in the chemical curriculum are presented. These arguments are then refuted and methods for teaching chemistry without invoking the hybrid atomic orbital model are presented to show how the model can be removed from the chemistry curriculum with little negative effect.