Cu metal crystallizes with fcc structure. The density of crysta...
Angle is measured to be 36.5 degrees.
We can use Bragg's Law to calculate the spacing between the crystal lattice planes:
nλ = 2d sinθ
where n is the order of diffraction (usually 1), λ is the wavelength of the x-ray, d is the spacing between the lattice planes, and θ is the Bragg angle.
Rearranging the equation to solve for d:
d = nλ / 2sinθ
Plugging in the given values:
d = (1)(1.537 nm) / 2sin(36.5 degrees)
d = 0.209 nm
Next, we can use the density and mass of the crystal to calculate the number of atoms in the unit cell:
density = mass / volume
volume = mass / density
The atomic mass of Cu is 63.55 g/mol, so the mass of one Cu atom is:
(26.98 kg / 6.022 x 10^23 atoms/mol) = 4.49 x 10^-23 kg/atom
The volume of the unit cell is:
volume = mass / density = 26.98 kg / 2698 kg/m3 = 0.01 m3
Since the fcc unit cell contains 4 atoms, the volume of one unit cell is one-fourth the volume of the atoms it contains:
volume of one atom = volume of unit cell / 4 = 0.01 m3 / 4 = 0.0025 m3
The length of one side of the unit cell can be calculated using the formula for the volume of a cube:
volume of one atom = length^3
length = (volume of one atom)^(1/3) = (0.0025 m3)^(1/3) = 0.0625 m
Finally, we can use the length of one side of the unit cell to calculate the number of atoms in the unit cell:
number of atoms in unit cell = (length of one side)^3 / volume of one atom
number of atoms in unit cell = (0.0625 m)^3 / 0.0025 m3
number of atoms in unit cell = 4
So there are 4 Cu atoms in the fcc unit cell.