Materials Science- GP 109

Tutorial Problems- 1
Atomic Bonding and Crystal Structures
(Prof. B. S. B. Karunaratne)

1. (a) Describe the bonding in MgO, Si, and Cu.

(b) Sketch the expected variations of potential energy V with the separation (r) between a pair of
atoms/molecules in
i) an organic polymeric materials and
ii) a hard ceramic material suitable for high temperature applications.
Explain your answer.
(c) ) Describe very briefly the difference between
i) Crystalline and amorphous solids. ii) Single crystalline and polycrystalline.
iii) Primary and secondary bonds

a b
2. (a) Potential energy between two atoms in a lattice can be written as u (r )   m
 n where a and b
r r
are constants and m and n are positive integers.
i) Identify the attractive and repulsive potentials and comment on their origin.
ii) Prove the condition for existing of a minimum potential energy between two atoms if n > m.
Then sketch the u(r) vs r.

(b) A long-chain molecule is composed of identical atoms evenly spaced. The potential energy of
interaction (between nearest neighbours only) is given by
V(x) = -A/x6 + B/x12
where x is the distance between two atoms. Find,
(i) the equilibrium spacing xo of the atoms, and
(ii) the modulus of elasticity of the chain, in terms of A and B.

If the chain is gradually stretched at what strain will it break?

3. Briefly explain the following:

(a) Space lattice, (b) Basis, (c) Single crystal, (d) Grains and grain boundaries,
(e) Metallic glasses, (f) Bravais lattices

4. The unit cell of aluminum is f.c.c. structure with lattice constant a = 0.4049 nm.
i) How many unit cells are in an aluminum foil of 0.005 cm thick and side 25 cm square.
ii) If its mass is 8.44 x 10-3 kg, how many atoms are present?
iii) How many atoms are there in each unit cell?

5. Consider a cubic unit cell.

i) Write down the Miller indices of the plane which is parallel to x and y axes.
ii) Sketch the followings.
(122), (112), [122], [112]
iii) Find the ratio of intercepts on the three axes x, y and z by (123) plane.
1/ 3
 nM A 
6. Show that for a cubic lattice, the lattice constant a is given by a    where,
 NA 
n - number of atoms per unit cell, MA - atomic weight
NA - Avogardro's number  - density of the material of the crystal
 The crystal structure of NaCl is a cubic lattice. The successive lattice sites being occupied by Na and
Cl ions respectively (the molecular weight of NaCl is 58.5). Calculate the spacing between the
nearest neighboring ions. (the density of Nacl is 2.18 x 103k gm-3)

7. i) Assuming that lattice points in a b.c.c structure are occupied by spherical atoms. Prove the
  3
free volume per unit cell is a 3 1   , where a is the lattice parameter.

 8 
ii) Determine the maximum values of the packing fraction for equal spheres of radius R located
at the points of simple cubic s.c., b.c.c. and f.c.c. crystals. Calculate the density ratio for the
three lattices.

8. Consider a b.c.c. unit cell, and construct a primitive cell within this large cell and compare the two.
How many atoms are in the primitive cell, and how does this compare with the numbers in the
original cell. Find the volume ratio of these cells.

9. For a b.c.c. lattice built up of spherical atoms of radius 0.12 nm, calculate the number of atoms per
cm2 on the plane (100), (110) and (111). Do the same procedure for f.c.c. and simple cube lattice
assuming the same radius.

10. If the ionic radii of Cs and Cl are 0.165 nm and 0.181 nm, and their atomic weights are 133 and 35.5
respectively, calculate the density of CsCl.

11. Metallic iron changes from b.c.c. to f.c.c. from 910oC. At this temperature, the atomic radii of the
iron atom in the two structures are 0.1258 nm, 0.1292 nm respectively.
Calculate the volume change in percentage during this structural change.

12. The crystal of Zn metal has hexagonal closed packed structure. Draw the unit cell of this structure.
Sketch the atomic plane of the above structure and unit cell when looking along c-axes. Calculate
the theoretical density of Zn.
o o
( The unit cell dimension of Zn; a = 2.665 A , c = 4.945 A , 1 a.m.u. = 1.6605 x 10-27 kg)

13. Prove that the ideal c/a ratio for the hexagonal close - packed structure is 8 3  1.633 . Na
transforms from b.c.c. to h.c.p at about 27 K. Assuming that the density remains fixed through this
transformations, find the lattice constant 'a' of hexagonal phase.
o
( a = 4.23 A in cubic phase and that the c/a ratio is indistinguishable from its ideal value.)

14. The f.c.c. is the most dense and the s.c is the least dense of the three cubic Bravious lattices. The
diamond structure is less dense than any of these. Find the packing fraction of the diamond
structure. Compare this value with the values corresponding to s.c, b.c.c, f.c.c. and h.c.p.

15. Find the radius of the largest foreign atom that may be placed in a face centre without distorting the
b.c.c. lattice structure of iron at low temperature. The atomic radius of iron is 0.1258 nm. Suppose
the atomic weight of the foreign atom is 12, find the volume fraction of iron lattice occupied by the
foreign atom. What is the solid solubility of this atom in b.c.c. iron? If the foreign atom is carbon
and the maximum solubility in b.c.c. iron is 0.025 % by weight, calculate the percentage occupation
of carbon atoms at face centres of the b.c.c iron.

Assignment 1 Questions 1, 2, 3, and 4

Assignment 2 Questions 5, 6, 7, and 8
Assignment 3 Questions 9, 10, 11, and 12
Assignment 3 Questions 13, 14, and 15

Mat Sc/bsbk/GP 109 tutorial