CHAPTER 3 THE STRUCTURE OF CRYSTALLINE SOLIDS Page 1/8

CLOSED-BOOK PRACTICE
CHAPTER 3: THE STRUCTURE OF CRYSTALLINE SOLIDS
CONCEPT CHECK
1. (a) What is the coordination number for the simple-cubic crystal structure?
(b) Calculate the atomic packing factor for simple cubic.
Ans:
(a) For the simple cubic crystal structure the coordination number (the number of nearest neighbor atoms) is
6. This is demonstrated in the figure below:

Consider the atom labeled A, which is located at the corner of the reduced-sphere simple cubic unit cell.
It has three nearest neighbors located in this unit celllabeled 1, 3, and 5. In addition, the three shaded
atoms, labeled 2, 4, and 6, are also nearest neighbors that belong to adjacent unit cells.
(b) The atomic packing factor is the total sphere volume-cell volume ratio, Eq (3.3). For total sphere
volume it is necessary to compute the number of atoms per unit cell using Eq (3.2), realizing that, for
simple cubic there are 8 corner atoms and no face and no interior atoms, i.e., Nc 8 and N f Ni 0 .
Nf Nc 0 8
Therefore, N Ni 0 1 atom per unit cell
2 8 2 8
Hence, the total sphere volume in terms of the atomic radius R is equal to:
4 4
VS (1 atom unit cell ) R3 R3
3 3
Because the unit cell is cubic, its volume is equal to the edge length a cubed; that is: VC a3
and because: a 2R VC a3 (2R)3 8R3
4
VS 3
R3
Finally, using Eq (3.3), the APF is computed as follows: APF 0.52
VC 8R3 6

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2. What is the difference between crystal structure and crystal system?

Ans:
A crystal structure is described by both the geometry of, and atomic arrangements within, the unit cell,
whereas a crystal system is described only in terms of the unit cell geometry. For example, face-centered
cubic and body-centered cubic are crystal structures that belong to the cubic crystal system.
3. For cubic crystals, as values of the planar indices h, k and l increase, does the distance between adjacent and
parallel planes (i.e., the interplanar spacing) increase or decrease? Why?
Ans:
The interplanar spacing between adjacent and parallel planes decreases as the values of h, k and l increase.
As values of the planar indices increase, the magnitude of the denominator in Eq (3.22) increases, with the
result that the interplanar spacing d hkl decreases.
4. Do noncrystalline materials display the phenomenon of allotropy (or polymorphism)? Why or why not?
Ans:
Noncrystalline materials do not display the phenomenon of allotropy; since a noncrystalline material does
not have a defined crystal structure, it cannot have more than one crystal structure, which is the definition of
allotropy.

QUESTIONS & PROBLEMS

Fundamental Concepts
What is the difference between atomic structure and crystalline structure?
Ans:
Atomic structure relates to the number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus of an atom, as well as the
number and probability distributions of the constituent electrons. On the other hand, crystalline structure
pertains to the arrangement of atoms in the crystalline solid material.
Unit Cells/Metallic Crystal Structures
The unit-cell edge-length and the atomic radius of the body-centered cubic (BCC)
crystal structure shown on the right are a and R, respectively.
a 4
(a) Prove the ratio: 2.309 ;
R 3

3
(b) Show that the atomic packing factor (APF) for BCC is APF 0.68 ;
8
3 0.433
(c) Prove that the linear density for BCC along the [100] direction vector is: LD100 whereas
4R R
3 0.306
along the [110] direction vector is: LD110 ;
4 2R R

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3 0.188
(d) Prove that the planar density for BCC on the (100) plane is: PD100 whereas on the
16R 2 R2
3 0.265
(110) plane is: PD110 .
8 2R2 R2

Ans:
(a) Consider the BCC unit cell shown at right. Using the triangle NOP, we have:
NP
2
a 2 a 2 2a 2

QP NP
2 2 2
then for triangle NPQ, we have: NQ

Since NQ 4R , where R being the atomic radius and also, QP a , therefore:

4R a 2a
a 4
2 2 2
2.309
R 3
(b) The atomic packing factor is defined as the ratio of sphere volume to the total unit cell volume, or
V
APF S .
VC
Since two spheres are associated with each unit cell for BCC:
4 R 3 8 R 3
VS 2 sphere volume 2 3
3
3
4R 64 R 3
Also, the unit cell has cubic symmetry, that is: VC a 3

3 3 3
VS 8 R3 3 3
Thus, APF 3
APF 0.68
VC 64 R 3 3 8
(c) As shown in the figure at right, the length of the [100] direction vector for
BCC is:
[110]
4R
L100 a
3
Therefore, the linear density of [100] in BCC is:
number of atoms centered on direction vector 100 1 atom
LD100
length of direction vector 100 L100
[100]
1 3 0.433
LD100 LD100
4R 3 4R R
4R 4 2R
Similarly, the length of the [110] direction vector for BCC is: L110 2a 2
3 3
Therefore, the linear density of [110] in BCC is:

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number of atoms centered on direction vector 110 1 atom

LD110
length of direction vector 110 L110
1 3 0.306
LD110 LD110
4 2R 3 4 2R R
(d) As shown in the figure on the right, the area of the (100) plane for BCC is:
2 R
4 R 16 R 2
A100 a a a
2
3
3
a
Therefore, the planar density of (100) in BCC is:
number of atoms centered on plane 100 1 atom
PD100
area of plane 100 A100
1 a
3 0.188
PD100 2
PD100 2
16 R 3 16R R2
Similarly, as shown in the figure at right, the area of the (110) plane
for BCC is:
2
R
4 R 16 2 R
2
A110 a 2a 2a 2 2 a
3 3
Therefore, the planar density of (110) in BCC is:
number of atoms centered on plane 110 2 atoms
PD110
area of plane 110 A110 2a
2 3 0.265
PD110 PD110
2
16 2 R 3 8 2R2 R2

The unit-cell edge-length and the atomic radius of the face-centered cubic (FCC)
crystal structure shown on the right are a and R, respectively.
a 4
(a) Prove the ratio: 2.828 ;
R 2
2
(b) Show that the atomic packing factor (APF) for FCC is APF 0.74 ;
6
1 0.354
(c) Prove that the linear density for FCC along the [100] direction vector is: LD100
2 2R R
1 0.204
whereas along the [111] direction vector is: LD111 ;
2 6R R

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1 0.25
(d) Prove that the planar density for FCC on the (100) plane is: PD100 2
2 whereas on the (110)
4R R
1 0.177
plane is: PD110 .
4 2R2 R2
Ans:
(a) Consider the FCC unit cell shown on the right. Applying the
Pythagorean theorem, we have:
a 4
(4 R)2 a 2 a 2 2a 2 2.828
R 2
4R
(b) The atomic packing factor is defined as the ratio of sphere volume to a
V
the total unit cell volume, or APF S .
VC
Since four spheres are associated with each unit cell for FCC: a
4 R 3 16 R 3
VS 4 sphere volume 4 3
3
3
4R
3
32 R
Also, the unit cell has cubic symmetry, that is VC a 3
2 2
VS 16 R 3 3 2
Thus, APF 3
0.74
VC 32 R 2 6
(c) As shown in the figure at right, the length of the [100] direction vector for
FCC is:
4R
L100 a
2
Therefore, the linear density of [100] in FCC is:
number of atoms centered on direction vector 100 1 atom
LD100
length of direction vector 100 L100
1 1 0.354 [100]
LD100 LD100
4R 2 2 2R R
Next, an FCC unit cell within which is drawn a [111] direction is shown
at right. For this [111] direction, the vector shown passes through only the
centers of the single atom at each of its ends, and, thus, there is the
equivalence of 1 atom that is centered on the direction vector. The length
of this direction vector is denoted by z in this figure, which is equal to:
z x 2 y 2 , where x is the length of the bottom face diagonal, which
is equal to 4R. Furthermore, y is the unit cell edge length a, which is
4R
equal to 2.828R . Thus, the length z may be calculated as follows:
2
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4 R 24 R 2 2 6R
4R
z
2

2
Therefore, the linear density of [111] in FCC is:
number of atoms centered on [111] direction vector 1 atom 1 0.204
LD111 LD111
length of [111] direction vector z 2 6R R

(d) As shown in the figure on the right, the area of the (100) plane for FCC
is: R
2
4R
A100 a 2 8R
2

2 a
Therefore, the planar density of (100) in FCC is:
number of atoms centered on plane 100 2 atoms 2
PD100 = 2
area of plane 100 A100 8R
1 0.25 a
PD100 2
2
4R R
Similarly, as shown in the figure at right, the area of the (110)
plane for FCC is: R
2
4 R 16 R 2
A110 a 2a 2a 2
2
2 2 a
Therefore, the planar density of (110) in FCC is:
number of atoms centered on plane 110 2 atoms
PD110
area of plane 110 A110
2 1 0.177 2a
PD110 PD110
16 R 2 2 4 2R2 R2

FUNDAMENTALS OF ENGINEERING
A hypothetical metal has the BCC crystal structure, a density of 7.24 g/cm 3 and an atomic weight of
48.9 g/mol. The atomic radius of this metal is:
(A) 0.122 nm
(B) 0.0997 nm
(C) 1.22 nm
(D) 0.154 nm
3
4R 64 R3
Ans: A. The volume of a BCC unit cell is calculated using Eq. (3.4) as: VC a3
3 3 3

Now, using Eq. (3.8), we may determine the density as:

nA

nA


3 3 nA
VC N A 64 R3 64 R 3 N A
NA
3 3
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1/ 3
3 3 nA
Solving for R leads to: R
64 N A
Since in BCC there are two atoms per unit cell n 2 and incorporating values for the density and
atomic weight A provided in the problem statement, we calculate the value of R as follows:

13 13
3 3 nA 3 3 2 atoms unit cell 48.9 g mol
R 1.22 108 cm 0.122 nm
64 N A 64 7.24 g cm3 6.022 10 23 atoms mol

which is answer A.
Which of the following materials may form crystalline solids?
(A) Polymers
(B) Metals
(C) Ceramics
(D) All of the above
(E) None of the above
Ans: D. Under normal solidification conditions, all three of these material types may form crystalline solids;
these include all metals, many ceramics, and some polymers (which will be semicrystalline).
The figure at right shows the atomic packing of a set of planes for the simple cubic crystal
structure; atoms drawn to full size are represented by circles. From the list below select the set
of indices for this plane.
(A) (120)
(B) (100)
(C) (111)
(D) (110)
Ans: B. The atomic packing shown is for a (100) type plane. The figure at
right is presented a (100) plane that passes through a simple cubic reduced
sphere unit cell, and which yields the packing arrangement indicated in the
problem statement.
Which crystal system(s) listed below has (have) the relationship:
a b c for the unit cell edge lengths?
(A) Cubic
(B) Hexagonal
(C) Triclinic
(D) Monoclinic
(E) Rhombohedral
(F) Orthorhombic
(G) Tetragonal
(H) Both C and E
(I) Both B and G
Ans: I. For both hexagonal and tetragonal crystal systems, two of the unit cell edge lengths are equal to one
another, but unequal to the third edge length.

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Which crystal system(s) listed below has (have) the interaxial angle relationship: 90 ?
(A) Cubic
(B) Tetragonal
(C) Hexagonal
(D) Triclinic
(E) Orthorhombic
(F) Both A and D
(G) A, B and E
Ans: G. Cubic, tetragonal and orthorhombic crystal systems have the three interaxial angles equal to 90.

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