A compound alloy of gold and copper crystallizes in a cubic lattice in...
Explanation:
The compound alloy of gold and copper crystallizes in a cubic lattice. In this lattice, the gold atoms occupy the lattice points at the corners of the cube, and the copper atoms occupy the centers of each of the cube faces.
Understanding the structure:
To determine the formula of the compound, we need to understand the arrangement of gold and copper atoms in the lattice.
- Each gold atom is located at a corner of the cube.
- Each copper atom is located at the center of each face of the cube.
Determining the ratio of gold to copper:
To determine the ratio of gold to copper atoms, we consider the number of each type of atom in one unit cell of the lattice.
- Each corner of the cube is shared by 8 unit cells, and each unit cell contributes 1/8th of a gold atom. Therefore, there is 1 gold atom in total from the corners.
- Each face of the cube is shared by 2 unit cells, and each unit cell contributes 1/2th of a copper atom. Therefore, there is 1 copper atom in total from the faces.
Writing the formula:
Based on the ratio of gold to copper atoms, we can write the formula of the compound.
- The ratio of gold to copper is 1:1.
- To balance the charges, the formula should be AuCu.
However, the question asks for the compound's formula, not the empirical formula. So we need to determine the number of copper atoms in one unit cell.
Calculating the number of copper atoms:
To determine the number of copper atoms, we need to consider the number of copper atoms contributed by each face of the cube.
- Each face of the cube contributes 1/2th of a copper atom.
- There are 6 faces in total, so the number of copper atoms contributed by the faces is 6 * 1/2 = 3.
Therefore, the formula of the compound is AuCu3, which corresponds to option A.
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