X-ray diffraction studies show that copper crystallises in an fcc unit cell with cell edge of `3.608 xx 10^(-8) ` cm . In a separate experiment , copper is determined to have a density of 8.92 g/`cm^(3)` , calculate the atomic mass of copper .

Explanation

In case of fcc lattice, number of atoms per unit cell, z = 4 atoms
Therefore, `M=(dN_(A)a^(3))/(z)`
`=(8.92gcm^(3)xx6.022xx10^(23)" atoms mol"^(-1)xx(3.608xx10^(-8)cm)^(3))/("4 atoms")`
`="63.1 g//mol"`
`"Atomic mass of copper = 63.1u"`