Sample Exercise

Example 1
Cite the difference between atomic mass and
atomic weight.

 Atomic mass is the mass of an individual atom,

whereas atomic weight is the average (weighted) of the
atomic masses of an atom's naturally occurring
isotopes.
Example 2(Question)
Silicon has three naturally occurring isotopes:
92.23% of 28Si, with an atomic weight of
27.9769 amu, 4.68% of 29Si, with an atomic
weight of 28.9765 amu, and 3.09% of 30Si, with
an atomic weight of 29.9738 amu. On the basis
of these data, confirm that the average atomic
weight of Si is 28.0854 amu
Example 2(Answer)
 The average atomic weight of silicon (A Si) is
computed by adding fraction-of-occurrence/atomic
weight products for the three isotopes

.

 = (0.9223)(27.9769) +(0.0468)(28.9765)
+(0.0309)(29.9738) =28.0854
Example 3(Question)
How many grams are there in one amu of
a material?
 In order to determine the number of grams in one
amu of material, appropriate manipulation of the
amu/atom, g/mol, and atom/mol relationships is all
that is necessary
Example 3(Answer)

 = 1.66 x 10-24 g/amu

Example 4(Question)
Calculate the force of attraction between a
Ca2+ and an O2− ion the centers of which are
separated by a distance of 1.25 nm.
Note that the attractive energy EA and repulsive energy
ER are functions of the interatomic distance according to

A B
EA  ER  n
r r
Example 4(Answer)
 Where A,B and n are constants

 The constant A can be derived from Coulombs law:

A
1
Z1eZ 2e
4o
Example 4(Answer)
Example 5(Question)
 Atomic Packing Factor, APF
 Show that the atomic packing factor for the FCC
crystal structure is 0.74
 Let Vs be the total volume of atoms in unit cell
 Let Vc be the total unit cell volume

VS
APF 
VC
Example 5(Answer)

VS  4 R  R
4 3 16 3
3 3
VC  16 R 2
3

APF  0.74
Density Computations
nA

VC N A
Where
n is the number of atoms associated with each unit cell
A is the atomic weight
VC volume of the unit cell
NA Avogadro’s number 16.022 x 1023 atoms/mol
Example 6(Question)
Copper has an atomic radius of 0.128 nm, an FCC crystal
structure, and an atomic weight of 63.5 g/mol. Compute
its theoretical density and compare the answer with its
measured density.
Copper is FCC
n= 4
VC  16R3 2
R = 0.128 nm
A = 63.5 g/mol
Example 5(Answer)

The literature value for the density of copper is 8.94

g/cm3, which is in very close agreement with the
foregoing result