PACKING OF ATOMS & TYPES OF UNIT CELLS

1) The type of unit cell obtained when two dimensional square close packed layers are arranged over
each other such that the spheres in the second layer are present exactly over the spheres of first
layer is
1) Body centred cubic 2) Primitive cubic 3) Face centred cubic 4) Hexagonal
2) The two dimensional square close packed layers are arragenged such that the spheres in evey next
layer are arraged over the voids of the first layer. The unit cell obtained is
1) BCC 2) FCC 3) HCP 4) CCP
3) The unit cell present in ABAB.... type of closest packing of atoms is
1) Tetragonal 2) Hexagonal 3) Face centred cube 4) Primitive cube
Note : There are two types of closest packing layers in three dimensional hexagonal close packing arrangement. The spheres in
the second layer (B) are present over the voids of one type in first layer (A)

4) The unit cell present in ABCABC... type of closest packing of atoms is
1) Hexagonal 2) Primitive cube 3) Body centred cube 4) Face centred cube
Note : In the face centred cube or cubic close packing, the closest packing layers are arranged in ABCABC pattern.
The spheres in the second layer (B) are arranged over one type of voids in the first layer (A). whereas the spheres in the third
layer (C) are placed over the second type of voids of first layer (A)
Prepared by V. Aditya vardhan
adichemadi@gmail.com
5) The co-ordination number in body centred cubic lattice is
1) 6 2) 8 3) 12 4) 4

6) The number of nearest atoms surrounding a given atomin a metallic crystal containing primitive
cubic unit cell is
1) 6 2) 8 3) 12 4) 4
7) The co-ordination number in hcp and ccp type of metallic crystals is
1) 4 2) 8 3) 12 4) 6
Prepared by V. Aditya vardhan
adichemadi@gmail.com
V
.

A
D
I
T
Y
A

V
A
R
D
H
A
N
a
d
i
c
h
e
m
a
d
i

@

g
m
a
i
l
.
c
o
m
8) The number of atoms per a single primitive cubic unit cell is
1) 8 2) 4 3) 2 4) 1
Note : The atom at the corner is shared amongst eight unit cell
no. of atoms per unit cell =8 x
1
8
=1
9) The number of atoms per a single body centred unit cell is
1) 1 2) 2 3) 4 4) 9
Hint : There is one atom at the centre of the unit cell along with atoms at eight corners
no. of atoms per unit cell =1+(8 x
1
8
) =2
10) The number of atoms per a single face centred cubic unit cell is
1) 2 2) 4 3) 8 4) 12
Hint : In the face cented cubic unit cell, there are atoms at of 6 faces along with atoms at 8 corners.
no. of atoms =(8 x
1
8
) +(6 x
1
2
) =4
11) The number of atoms in an end centred cubic unit cell is
1) 2 2) 1 3) 4 4) 8
Hint : In the end centred cubic unit cell, there are two atoms at the centres of two opposite faces along with atoms at eight
corners.
no. of atoms =(8 x
1
8
) +(2x
1
2
) =2
12) The number of atoms in hexagonal prismatic unit cell is
1) 2 2) 4 3) 6 4) 12
Prepared by V. Aditya vardhan
adichemadi@gmail.com
Note : contribution from top & bottom layers
1 1
) ] 3
6 2
2x[(6x + = =
contribution frommiddle layer =3
Total no.of atoms =3 +3 =6
13) The relation between radius (r) of atomand edge length (a) in the primitive cubic unit cell of
closest packed atoms is
1) r =2a 2) r =a / 2 3) r =a 4) r =4a
14) The relation between radius (r) of atom and edge length (a) in the body centred cubic unit cell of
closest packed atoms is
1)
3
r =
4
a 2)
2
r =
4
a 3)
r = 2a
4)
3
r =
2
a
2 2 2 2 2 2
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
2
2 3
4
4 3
3
4
:

BD DC a a a
In ABC
AC AB BC a BC a a a
But AC r
AC r a
r a
Derivation
In BCD
BC = + = + =
A
= + = + = + =
=
= =
=
A
15) The relation between radius (r) of atomand edge length (a) in the face centred cubic unit cell is
1)
3
r =
4
a 2)
2
r =
4
a 3)
r = 2a
4)
3
r =
2
a

( )
2 2 2
2 2 2 2
4 2
4 2
2
4
:

AB BC
r a a a
r a
r a
Derivation
In ABC
AC = +
= + =
=
=
A
Prepared by V. Aditya vardhan
adichemadi@gmail.com
V
.

A
D
I
T
Y
A

V
A
R
D
H
A
N
a
d
i
c
h
e
m
a
d
i

@

g
m
a
i
l
.
c
o
m
16) The metal which crystallises in simple cubic arrangement is
1) Po 2) Al 3) Mg 4) All
17) The type of unit cell present in sodiummetal is
1) BCC 2) FCC 3) HCP 4) none
Note : Other examples with bcc structure are K, Rb, Cs, Ba, Cr, Mo and W
18) The metal which has fcc arrangement in its crystal is
1) Cs 2) Al 3) Zn 4) W
Note : Other examples with fcc arrangement are Cu, Au, Pb, Pt, Pd, Ni and Ca
19) The metal which has hcp arrangement
1) Be 2) Mg 3) Zn 4) All
Note : Other examples are Cd, Co, Ti & Tl
20) All the noble gases, except helium, crystallise in
1) hcp structure 2) ccp structure 3) bcc structure 4) rhombic structure
Note : Helium crystallises in hcp structure
21) The crystal structure in solid H
2
is
1) hcp 2) ccp 3) bcc 4) All
22) If the atomic radius of Cs is 235 pm, then the edge length of unit cell in Cs metal will be
1) 54.27 pm 2) 542.7.A
0
3) 54.27 X 10
-10
m 4) 5.427.A
0
Note : 1 Picometer (pm) =10
-12
. meters
=10
-2
A
0
23) The edge length of unit cell in Cu metal is 3.62 A
0
. The atomic radius of Cu will be
1) 1.28 A
0
2) 3.62 A
0
3) 1.81 A
0
4) 1.52 A
0
Note : Cu crystallises in fcc structure
24) The length of a face diagonal of a simple cubic unit cell is 120 pm. The radius of the atomis
1) 60 pm 2) 42.4 pm 3) 72 pm 4) 47.3 pm
25) The edge length of unit cell in potassiummetal, which crystallises in body centred cubic lattice,
isy cm. The length of body diagonal of the unit cell is
1) 2y cm 2) 3y cm 3)
3
4
y cm 4)
4 2
y cm
Hint : There are three atoms touching each other along the body diagonal of the body centred cubic unit cell.
Length of body digonal =4r =
3
a.
26) Chromiumis crystallised in body centred cubic structure. The edge length of unit cell in chromium
is 293.3 pm. The distance between two nearest atoms in the unit cell is
1) 63 pm 2) 293.3 pm 3) 127 pm 4) 254 pm
Hint : The two nearest atoms in bcc are present along the body diagonal.
Nearest distance =d =2r =
3
2
a
27) The nearest distance (d) between two atoms in Nickel metal is 248 pm. The edge length (a) of the
unit cell will be
1) 124 pm 2) 350.6 pm 3) 68 pm 4) 412 pm
Hint : The two nearest atoms in fcc are arranged along the face diagonal of the unit cell.
Nearest distance (d) =2r =
3
2
a ( 4r = 2 a)
Note: Nickel crystallises in face centred cubic lattice.
28) A metal crystallises into a lattice containing a sequence of layers of ABC ABC-----. If the radius
of metal atoms is 174 pm, then the distance between the two successive layers (i.e., A and B) is
1) 348 pm 2) 174 pm 3) 284. 2 pm 4) 492. 2 pm
Prepared by V. Aditya vardhan
adichemadi@gmail.com
V
.

A
D
I
T
Y
A

V
A
R
D
H
A
N
a
d
i
c
h
e
m
a
d
i

@

g
m
a
i
l
.
c
o
m
Hint : ABCABC ---- pattern gives rise to face centred cubic lattice. The layers (ABCA) are present perpendicular to the body
diagonal of the unit cell.
The distance between two successive layers =
length of body diagonal
3
=
3
3
a
= .
3 4
3 2
r
2
2
3
r =
29) Magnesium crystallises into a lattice containing closely packed layers in ABAB____ pattern. The
distance between each successive layers is 217 pm. What is the radius of magnesiumatom?
1) 133 pm 2) 217 pm 3) 108.5 pm 4) 266 pm
Hint: ABAB---- pattern of arrangement of layers is otherwise known as hexagonal cubib packing. The distance between two
successive layers in this type of packing is same as that of cubic close packing i.e.,
2
2
3
r =
30) The volume occupied by atoms in a primitive cubic unit cell is (where a is edge length)
1)
3
4
3 2
a

| |
|
\ .
2)
3
4 3
2 x
3 4
a
| |
|
|
\ .
3)
3
4 2
4 x
3 4
a
| |
|
|
\ .
4)
3
4
3
r
31) The volume occupied by atoms in a body centred cubic unit cell is (where a is edge length)
1)
3
4
3 2
a

| |
|
\ .
2)
3
4 3
2 x
3 4
a
| |
|
|
\ .
3)
3
4 2
4 x
3 4
a
| |
|
|
\ .
4)
3
4
3
r
32) The volume occupied by atoms in a face centred cubic unit cell is (where a is edge length)
1)
3
4
3 2
a

| |
|
\ .
2)
3
4 3
2 x
3 4
a
| |
|
|
\ .
3)
3
4 2
4 x
3 4
a
| |
|
|
\ .
4)
3
4
3
r
33) The percentage of packing of a simple cubic unit cell is
1) 52.4% 2) 47.6% 3) 74% 4) 68%
The volume occupied by the atoms in a single unit cell
Hint: The packing fraction of a unit cell =
The volume of the unit cell
The packing fraction of body centred cubic unit cell =
4
3
3
=
3
a
r

The percentage of packing =

3
4
3 2
=0.5238
3
6
a
0.5238 X 100 52.38%
a

| |
|
\ .
=
=
34) The percentage of void volume in a simple cubic unit cell is
1) 47.6% 2) 68% 3) 52.4% 4) 20%
35) The percentage of packing of a body centred cubic unit cell is
1) 74% 2) 68% 3) 52.4% 4) 47.6%
Prepared by V. Aditya vardhan
adichemadi@gmail.com
V
.

A
D
I
T
Y
A

V
A
R
D
H
A
N
a
d
i
c
h
e
m
a
d
i

@

g
m
a
i
l
.
c
o
m
Hint: The packing fraction of body centred cubic unit cell =
The percentage of packing =
3
4 3
4
3 2 X
2 X
3 4
3
3
= =0.68
3 3
8
a a
0.68 X 100 68%
a
r

| |
|
|
\ .
=
=
36) The percentage of packing of hcp and ccp type of unit cells is
1) 74% 2) 52.4% 3) 92% 4) none
Hint: The packing fraction of cubic close packed unit cell =
The percentage of packing =
Note: The packing fraction of hexagon
3
4 2
4
3 4 X
4 X
3 4
2
3
= =0.74
3 3
6
a a
0.74 X 100 74%
a
r

| |
|
|
\ .
=
=
al cubic packed unit cell is also 0.74
37) The percentage of void volume in face centred cubic lattice is
1) 26% 2) 0% 3) 32% 4) 12%
38) The atomic radius of aluminiumis 1.26A
0
. The density of it in the solid state is
1) 3.33 g.cm
-2
2) 3.7g.cm
-3
3) 2.31g.cm
-3
4) 3.96g.cm
-3
Formula :
density ( ) =
3
M 1
.
N a
Z.
where Z = number of atoms in a unit cell
M =Molar mass
N =Avogadro number
a
3
=Volume of the unit cell
a =edge length
Note : Aluminium crystallises in fcc structure.
39) The cubic unit cell of a metal ( molar mass 63.55g.mol
-1
) has an edge length of 362 pm. Its density
is 8.92 g.cm
-3
. The type of unit cell is
1) primitive 2) face centred 3) body centred 4) end centred
40) A metal has a density of 1.984 g.cm
-3
and it crystallises in face centred cubic crystal with edge
length equal to 630 pm. The molar mass of the metal is
1) 37.35 g.mol
-1
2) 56.02 g.mol
-1
3) 74.70 g.mol
-1
4) 65.36 g.mol
-1
41) The numbers of tetrahedral and octahedral voids respectively present in closest packed crystals
containing X number of spheres are
1) 2X and X 2) X and 2X 3) 4X and 2X 4) 4X and X
Note: The number of trigonal voids is equal to 8X.
42) The ratio of radius of trigonal void to the radius of the spheres in closest packed arrangement is
1) 0.414 2) 0.155 3) 0.225 4) 0.732

o

o
cos30
Derivation:
BE
In BDE, cos =
BD
cos30 =
2.
3
1.155 0.155

=
sphere sphere
sphere void
void
sphere
sphere void
sphere sphere sphere
r r
DBE
r
r r
r r
r r r r
A Z
+
+ = =
=
0.155
void
sphere
sphere
r
r
r =
Prepared by V. Aditya vardhan
adichemadi@gmail.com
V
.

A
D
I
T
Y
A

V
A
R
D
H
A
N
a
d
i
c
h
e
m
a
d
i

@

g
m
a
i
l
.
c
o
m
43) The ratio of radius of tetrahedral void to the radius of the sphere in closest packed arrangement is
1) 0.414 2) 0.225 3) 0.732 4) None
o ,
o ,
,
Derivation:
AC
In , sin =
AO
109 28
sin = 109 28
2
sin54 44 0.8164

( )

sphere sphere
sphere void
void
sphere
sphere void
o
r r
OAC AOC
r
AOB
r r
r r
r
A Z
Z =
+
+ = =

1.225 0.225
0.225
=
sphere sphere sphere
void
sphere
sphere
r
r
r r r
r

=
=
44) The ratio of radius of octahedral void to the radius of the spheres in closest packed arrangement is
1) 0.414 2) 0.155 3) 0.225 4) 0.732
o


o
Derivation:
BD
In , cos =
AB
cos45 =
cos45

2
1.414 0.414


=
sphere
sphere void
void
sphere
sphere void
sphere
sphere sphere
r
ABD ABD
r
r r
r r
r
r
r r
A Z
+
+ = =
=
0.414
sphere
void
sphere
sphere
r
r
r
r =
45) The ratio of radius of cubic void to the radius of surrounding closely packed atoms whose centres
lie at the corners of a cube is
1) 0.414 2) 0.155 3) 0.225 4) 0.732
KEY
1) 2 2) 1 3) 3 4) 4 5) 2 6) 1 7) 3 8) 4 9) 2 10) 2 11) 1 12) 3
13) 2 14) 1 15) 2 16)1 17) 1 18) 2 19) 4 20) 2 21) 1 22) 4 23) 1 24) 2
25) 2 26) 4 27) 2 28) 3 29) 1 30) 1 31)2 32) 3 33) 1 34) 1 35) 2 36) 1
37) 1 38) 4 39) 2 40) 3 41) 1 42) 2 43) 2 44) 1 45) 4
Prepared by V. Aditya vardhan
adichemadi@gmail.com