Question

Metallic tantalum crystallizes in a body-centered cubic lattice, with one Ta atom per lattice point. If the edge length of the unit cell is found to be 328 pm, what is the metallic radius of Ta in pm

Answer 1

The radius of the atom Ta is 142pm

Step-by-step explanation:

To solve this question we need to know that for a body-centered cubic lattice we have the equations:

X = 4/√3 R

Where X is edge length and R is radius of the atom in the lattice.

If adge length of unit cell is 328 pm:

328pm = 4/√3 R

328pm * √3 / 4 = R

142pm = R

The radius of the atom Ta is 142pm