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Ch.13 - Solids & Modern Materials
Chapter 13, Problem 33

Platinum crystallizes with the face-centered cubic unit cell. The radius of a platinum atom is 139 pm. Calculate the edge length of the unit cell and the density of platinum in g/cm3.

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Key Concepts

Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.

Face-Centered Cubic (FCC) Structure

The face-centered cubic (FCC) structure is a type of crystal lattice where atoms are located at each of the corners and the centers of all the faces of the cube. In an FCC unit cell, there are a total of four atoms per unit cell, contributing to its high packing efficiency. Understanding this structure is essential for calculating properties like edge length and density.
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Unit Cell Edge Length

The edge length of a unit cell in a crystal lattice is the length of one side of the cube that defines the repeating unit of the crystal structure. For FCC lattices, the relationship between the atomic radius and the edge length can be expressed as a = 2√2r, where 'a' is the edge length and 'r' is the atomic radius. This relationship is crucial for determining the dimensions of the unit cell.
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Density Calculation

Density is defined as mass per unit volume and is calculated using the formula density = mass/volume. For a crystalline solid, the mass can be determined from the number of atoms in the unit cell and the atomic mass, while the volume is derived from the cube of the edge length. This concept is vital for finding the density of platinum once the edge length is known.
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