An ionic compound crystallizes in a unit cell having a face-centered cubic array of anions,X^-,and half of the tetrahedral holes filled with metal ions,Mⁿ⁺ The empirical formula of this ionic compound is A)MX. B)MX₂. C)M₂X. D)M₂X₇.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

In a face-centered cubic (FCC) array of anions, there are 4 anions per unit cell. With half of the tetrahedral holes filled by metal ions, there are 2 metal ions per unit cell (since there are 8 tetrahedral holes in an FCC unit cell, and half of 8 is 4, but considering the stoichiometry, it simplifies to a 2:1 ratio of holes to metal ions for this specific question's context). Therefore, the empirical formula is MX, indicating a 1:1 ratio of metal ions to anions.

An Ionic Compound Crystallizes in a Unit Cell Having a Face-Centered