Question

How would you describe the arrangement of sodium ions and chloride ions in a crystal of sodium chloride?

Answer 1

The sodium and chloride ions in a crystal of sodium chloride form a crystal lattice.

Explanation:

Inside the crystal lattice, each sodium ion, `"Na"^(1+)"`, is surrounded by six chloride ions, `"Cl"^(1-)"`, and each chloride ion is surrounded by six sodium ions.


Answer 2

NaCl has a cubic unit cell. It is best thought of as a face-centered cubic (ffc) array of anions with an interpenetrating fcc cation lattice (or vice-versa).