An ionic compound crystallizes in a unit cell having a face-centered cubic array of metal ions,Mⁿ⁺,and all of the tetrahedral holes occupied by anions,X^-.The empirical formula of this ionic compound is A)MX. B)MX₂. C)M₂X. D)M₇X₄.

Question

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In a face-centered cubic (fcc) lattice, there are 4 metal ions per unit cell. There are 8 tetrahedral holes, and since all are occupied by anions, there are 8 anions per unit cell. The ratio of metal ions to anions is 4:8, which simplifies to 1:2, giving the empirical formula MX₂.

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