Which of the following statements about metallic copper (Cu) which crystallizes in a face-centered cubic unit cell arrangement is NOT correct?

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Consider the statement in question: metallic copper (Cu) with a face-centered cubic (FCC) lattice. Now evaluate each option one by one.
Option 1: 'The number of nearest neighbors surrounding each Cu atom is 8.' In an FCC lattice, each atom touches 12 nearest neighbors, not 8, so this claim is incorrect and would misrepresent the local atomic environment.
Option 2: 'The structure has an ABCABC...... pattern of layers.' FCC stacking follows an ABCABC... sequence of close-packed layers, so this description is correct for Cu.
Option 3: 'It will conduct electricity.' Copper is a well-known metal conductor with free electrons that enable electrical conductivity; this statement is true.
Option 4: 'There are four Cu atoms per unit cell.' The conventional FCC unit cell contains 4 atoms (one at each of the 8 corners contributing 1/8 each and one at each of the 6 faces contributing 1/2 each), so this is correct.
Option 5: 'The face diagonal length of the unit cell is four times the radius of a Cu atom.' In an FCC cell, a = 2√2 r, where r is the atomic (metallic) radius. The face diagonal length is a√2 = (2√2 r)√2 = 4r, i.e., four times the atomic radius; this is true as well.

Putting it together, each option is weighed as follows: multiple statements (2–5) align with known FCC Cu properties, while statement 1 misstates the coordination environment, making it the NOT-correct option. The incorrectness stems from confusing coordination number with the more accurate 12 nearest neighbors in FCC structures, which reflects the dense packing and multiple close contacts Cu atoms have within the lattice.

Which of the following statements about metallic copper (Cu) which crystallizes in a face-centered cubic unit cell arrangement is NOT correct?

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