High School

The metal potassium crystallizes in a body-centered cubic lattice. If the radius of potassium is 227 pm, what is the unit cell edge length?

A. 524 pm
B. 454 pm
C. 303 pm
D. 227 pm
E. 98.3 pm

Answer :

Final answer:

The metal potassium forms a body-centered cubic lattice structure. The edge length of the unit cell can be found by rearranging the mathematical relationship √3a = 4r to a = 4r/√3 and substituting the given radius of the potassium atom. This gives an edge length of approximately 524 pm.

Explanation:

The metal potassium forms a body-centered cubic lattice structure. In this structure, the edge length, a, of the cube is related to the radius, r, of the atom by the mathematical relationship √3a = 4r. So, to find the edge length, we can rearrange this equation to a = 4r/√3. Substituting the given radius of the potassium atom (227 pm) into this equation, we find that the edge length a of the unit cell is approximately 524 pm. Therefore, option (a) is correct.

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