What is the coordination number of atoms in a face-centered cubic (FCC) lattice?
Practice Questions
Q1
What is the coordination number of atoms in a face-centered cubic (FCC) lattice? (2021)
4
6
8
12
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
What is the coordination number of atoms in a face-centered cubic (FCC) lattice? (2021)
Step 1: Understand what a face-centered cubic (FCC) lattice is. It is a type of crystal structure where atoms are located at each corner of a cube and at the center of each face of the cube.
Step 2: Visualize the arrangement of atoms in the FCC lattice. Each corner atom is shared by 8 adjacent cubes, and each face atom is shared by 2 adjacent cubes.
Step 3: Identify how many atoms are directly surrounding a single atom in the FCC lattice. Each atom in the center of a face is surrounded by 4 corner atoms from the same face and 2 atoms from the opposite face.
Step 4: Count the total number of surrounding atoms. You will find that each atom in the FCC lattice is surrounded by 6 other atoms.
Step 5: Conclude that the coordination number, which is the number of nearest neighbors surrounding an atom, is 6 for the FCC lattice.
