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Ch.12 - Solids and Modern Materials
Chapter 12, Problem 39

Aluminum metal crystallizes in a face-centered cubic unit cell. (a) How many aluminum atoms are in a unit cell? (b) Estimate the length of the unit cell edge, a, from the atomic radius of aluminum (1.43 Å). (c) Calculate the density of aluminum metal.

Verified step by step guidance
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Step 1: Understand the structure of a face-centered cubic (FCC) unit cell. In an FCC unit cell, atoms are located at each of the corners and the centers of all the faces of the cube. Calculate the total number of atoms per unit cell by considering the contribution of each atom at the corners and faces.
Step 2: Calculate the number of atoms in the FCC unit cell. Each corner atom is shared by eight adjacent unit cells, and each face-centered atom is shared by two unit cells. Therefore, the total number of atoms in one FCC unit cell is calculated as follows: 8 corner atoms * (1/8) + 6 face atoms * (1/2).
Step 3: Use the atomic radius to estimate the length of the unit cell edge, a. In an FCC structure, the face diagonal is equal to four times the atomic radius. Use the relationship between the face diagonal and the edge length: face diagonal = a√2 = 4 * atomic radius.
Step 4: Rearrange the equation from Step 3 to solve for the edge length, a. Substitute the given atomic radius of aluminum (1.43 Å) into the equation to find the edge length.
Step 5: Calculate the density of aluminum metal. Use the formula for density: density = mass/volume. First, calculate the mass of the aluminum atoms in the unit cell using the molar mass of aluminum and Avogadro's number. Then, calculate the volume of the unit cell using the edge length from Step 4. Finally, divide the mass by the volume to find the density.
Related Practice
Textbook Question

Calcium crystallizes in a body-centered cubic structure at 467°C. (a) How many Ca atoms are contained in each unit cell?

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Textbook Question
Calcium crystallizes in a face-centered cubic unit cell at room temperature that has an edge length of 5.588 Å. (b) Calculate the density of Ca metal at this temperature.
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Open Question
Calculate the volume in ų of a face-centered cubic unit cell if it is composed of atoms with an atomic radius of 1.82 Å.
Textbook Question

An element crystallizes in a face-centered cubic lattice. The edge of the unit cell is 4.078 Å, and the density of the crystal is 19.30 g>cm3. Calculate the atomic weight of the element and identify the element.

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Textbook Question

Which of these statements about alloys and intermetallic compounds is false? (a) Bronze is an example of an alloy. (b) 'Alloy' is just another word for 'a chemical compound of fixed composition that is made of two or more metals.' (c) Intermetallics are compounds of two or more metals that have a definite composition and are not considered alloys. (d) If you mix two metals together and, at the atomic level, they separate into two or more different compositional phases, you have created a heterogeneous alloy. (e) Alloys can be formed even if the atoms that comprise them are rather different in size.

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Textbook Question

Determine if each statement is true or false: (b) Substitutional alloys have 'solute' atoms that replace 'solvent' atoms in a lattice, but interstitial alloys have 'solute' atoms that are in between the 'solvent' atoms in a lattice.

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