1.4 (i) What is meant by the term ‘coordination number’?

(ii) What is the coordination number of atoms:

(a) in a cubic close-packed structure?

(b) in a body-centred cubic structure?


(i) The number of nearest neighbours of any constituent particle present in the crystal lattice is called its coordination number.

(ii) The coordination number of atoms

(a) in a cubic close-packed structure is 12, and

(b) in a body-centred cubic structure is 8