Question

Name the crystal structure of the copper metal.

Answer 1

Hint: In order to answer this question, you must recall the concept of solid state where you studied the crystal structures of metals. Within the copper atom lattice a cloud of free electrons is uniquely available for the transfer of electrical current. This same cloud of electrons also enhances the efficient transfer of thermal energy. Enlist all the properties of the copper’s crystal structure and then finally conclude the correct answer.


Complete solution:
Step 1: In this step we will enlist all the physical properties of the crystal structure of copper:
Solid copper can be described as the arrangement of copper atoms in a face-centered-cubic (fcc) configuration.
A copper atom is found at each corner and in the center of each face of a cube as depicted in. This is the unit cell which is repeated in three dimensional space to make up the crystal structure of the metal.
By going through all these properties we can clearly conclude that the crystal structure of the copper metal is Face Centered Cubic .
When it comes to the structure diagram it is

Hence the required answer is “Face Centered Cubic ”.



Note:The copper atom is quite similar to an atom of gold or silver, which together with copper make up a group in the periodic table of the elements. Everyone is aware of the excellent electrical conductivity of copper, which results from copper's atomic structure. Within the copper atom lattice a cloud of free electrons is uniquely available for the transfer of electrical current. This same cloud of electrons also enhances the efficient transfer of thermal energy.