The carbon atoms on ethane are

The carbon atoms in ethane are sp3 hybridized. Hybridization is a concept in chemistry that describes how the orbitals of an atom combine to form new hybrid orbitals. In the case of carbon, which has four valence electrons, the four orbitals (s, px, py, and pz) combine to form four hybrid orbitals that have equal energy and are oriented in a tetrahedral arrangement around the carbon atom. In ethane, each carbon atom is bonded to three other atoms: two other carbon atoms and three hydrogen atoms. Each of the carbon-hydrogen bonds is formed by overlapping the sp3 hybrid orbitals on the carbon atom with the 1s orbitals on the hydrogen atoms. The carbon-carbon bond is formed by overlapping two of the sp3 hybrid orbitals on each carbon atom. Overall, the sp3 hybridization of the carbon atoms in ethane allows for the formation of strong and stable covalent bonds between the carbon and hydrogen atoms, as well as between the two carbon atoms.