Video narration
Why doesn't an atom have to use its original orbitals exactly as they are? Think of mixing paint: colors combine into a new one. Hybridization is a model, not literal paint mixing. An s orbital and p orbitals combine into new hybrid orbitals, pointing toward its bonds. Hybridization isn't the atom changing identity; it's a model matching orbital directions to molecular shape. In sp3, one s and three p orbitals produce four equivalent hybrids in a tetrahedral arrangement. In sp2, one s and two p orbitals produce three hybrids in a trigonal-planar arrangement, while one p orbital remains unhybridized. In sp, one s and one p produce two hybrids pointing opposite each other, while two p orbitals remain. The labels name the orbitals combined and the geometry. So why can carbon make four identical bonds? Its s and p orbitals combine into four equivalent sp3 hybrid orbitals.