Question

If 1% of the surface atoms were found to exist at step edges, determine the spacing between the steps.

A) 100 Å
B) 50 Å
C) 10 Å
D) 1 Å

Answer 1

The spacing between the steps would be 10 Å (Angstroms).

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine the spacing between the steps, we need to know the total number of surface atoms. If 1% of the surface atoms exist at step edges, then 99% of the surface atoms exist on the terraces between the steps. Therefore, the spacing between the steps would be the distance between 99% of the surface atoms.

Since there are 10^10 atoms in 1 meter, the spacing between the steps would be:

10 Å (Angstroms)