Particles are arranged in a crystal structure in a sample of:
A. \(\text{H}_2\) (g)
B. \(\text{Br}_2\) (l)
C. \(\text{Ar}\) (g)
D. \(\text{Ag}\) (s)
Answer (3)
The answer is number 4. Ag(s) or Solid Silver. Silver in a solid phase has a face centered cubic crystal structure. Among your choices, silver is the only example of particles that are arranged in their crystal structure while the other choices are gases and liquid. Liquid and gases have loose atoms that do not form crystal structures.
Particles are arranged in a crystal structure in a sample of Ag (s). In Chemistry, we learn that solids usually have their constituent particles arranged in a regular, three-dimensional array known as a crystal lattice. The particles in a solid are essentially in contact and this contact is maintained by forces holding them together. This regular arrangement of particles is sometimes visible macroscopically. For metals, such as silver (Ag), which is a solid at room temperature, the atoms are packed in a crystal lattice where the overall attractive interactions between particles are maximized, and the total intermolecular energy is minimized.
Liquids like Br2 (L) have particles in close contact but they can slide over one another. Gases, such as H2 (g) and Ar (g), consist of particles separated by larger distances, moving freely. Thus, only the sample of Ag (s), being a solid with a metallic crystalline structure, exhibits a regular crystal structure.
The only option with particles arranged in a crystal structure is D. \text{Ag} (s) , which is solid silver that forms a face-centered cubic structure. The other options are hydrogen gas, bromine liquid, and argon gas, which do not exhibit crystalline arrangement. Thus, solid silver is the only crystalline solid among the choices provided.
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