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A8.8 Density of Pure metal
The density of a pure metal can be determined by using the measurements of the unit cell for that metal.
You need various pieces of information:
1. The mass of the atom (divide the relative atomic mass by the Avogadro constant).
2. The type of unit cell – and from this the number of atoms per unit cell.
3. The cell dimensions (see diagrams below for different options).
Vanadium has a body centred structure. Its unit cell has dimensions of 303pm
. Calculate the density of vanadium metal.
1. Ar of vanadium = 50.94
So 1 atom has a mass of
2. BCC structure has 2 atoms per unit cell
So total mass of 1 unit cell
3. Volume of the unit cell =
Density = mass/volume
Since there are
in
, convert the answer to
, divide by 1 =