Question

Iron has a density of 7.87 g/cm3, and the mass of an iron atom is 9.27 1026 kg. if the atoms are spherical and tightly packed, (a) what is the volume of an iron atom and (b) what is the distance between the centers of adjacent atoms?

Answer 1

(a) what is the volume of an iron atom

Volume = mass / density = 7.27x10^-26 kg ( 1000 g / 1 kg ) / ( 7.87 g / cm^3 ) = 9.24x10^-24 cm^3


(b) what is the distance between the centers of adjacent atoms?

Volume = length of the side of a cube^3
9.24x10^-24 = length^3
length = 2.10x10^-8 cm = distance of the centers of the adjacent atoms