King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals

Mechanical Engineering Department

ME 216: Materials Science & Engineering
Semester (181)
Homework # 1
Assigned on: Sunday, September 09, 2018
Due date: Sunday, September 16, 2018

(Use this page as a cover page)

Name: ______________________ ID#: ________________ Section #: _____

Marks Grades

1 20

2 20

3 20

4 20

5 20

Total 100

Warning: Copying any problem or part of a problem will result in zero grade for the whole homework.
Problem # 1
Consider the bonding in a hypothetical molecule. The force of attraction between two atoms is given by
the equation:
0.90 𝑒𝑉. 𝑛𝑚2
𝐹𝐴 =
𝑟3
where, r is the distance between the two atoms. The force of repulsion is given by the equation:

−5.9𝑥10−5 𝑒𝑉. 𝑛𝑚10

𝐹𝑅 =
𝑟 11
a) Calculate the bond length for this molecule.
b) Calculate the bond energy.

Solution
Problem # 2
The net potential energy between two adjacent ions, EN, may be represented as:
𝐴 𝐵
𝐸𝑁 = − + 𝑛
𝑟 𝑟
Calculate the minimum bonding energy (E0) in terms of the parameters A, B, and n using the following
procedure:
1. Differentiate EN with respect to r, and then set the resulting expression equal to zero, since the curve of
EN versus r is a minimum at E0.
2. Solve for r in terms of A, B, and n, which yields r0, the equilibrium interionic spacing.
3. Determine the expression for E0 by substitution of r0 into the above equation.
4. Use the constants, A, B and n from problem 1 to find r0 and E0 from the equations you just derived from
the previous steps and compare these with the graphical results of Problem 1.
Solution:

(4) A=2.16, B=2.17E-6, n=9

r0= 0.234
E0= -8.199
Problem # 3
For a hypothetical ion pair, attractive and repulsive energies EA and ER, respectively, depend on the
distance between the ions r, according to:
2.16
𝐸𝐴 = −
𝑟
2.17𝑥10−6
𝐸𝑅 =
𝑟9
For these expressions, energies are expressed in electron volts (eV) per the ion pair, and r is the distance
in nanometers (nm). The net energy EN is just the sum of the two expressions above.
(a) Use a computer software (Excel) to superimpose on a single plot EN, ER, and EA versus r up to 1.0 nm.
The r values should vary from 0.15 to 1.0 with 0.001 increment.
(b) On the basis of this plot, determine (i) the equilibrium spacing r0 between the two ions, and (ii) the
magnitude of the bonding energy E0 between the two ions.

Energies vs Interatomic separation distance

60

50 E0= - 8.199 eV
r0=0.234 nm
40

30

EA
E (eV)

20
ER

10 EN

0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2
-10

-20
r (nm)
Problem # 4
Make a plot of bonding energy versus melting temperature for the four metals listed in Table 2.3 (Hg,
Al, Ag and W). Using this plot, approximate the bonding energy for Germanium, which has a melting
temperature of 9370C. Fit the data with a linear equation, and include the equation in the same graph,
then use the equation to find the bonding energy.

900
E=313.36 kJ/mol y = 0.219x + 108.16

800

700
Bonding Energy (kJ/mol)

600

500

400

300

200

100

0
-500 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000
Melting Temperature (Degrees)
Problem # 5
(a) Compute %IC of the interatomic bond for each of the following compounds: MgO, GaP, CsF,
CdS, and FeO. (use Figure 2.9 from Callister)
(b) Give electron configurations for the Fe3+and S2- ions.
(c) Explain why covalently bonded materials are generally less dense than ionically or metallically
bonded ones.

Solution
(a)
MgO: %IC=70.18%
GaP: %IC=2.22%
CsF: %IC=92.27%
CdS: %IC=18.3%
FeO: %IC=55.5%

(b) The Fe3+ ion is an iron atom that has lost three electrons. Since the electron configuration of the Fe
atom is 1s22s22p63s23p63d64s2 (Table 2.2), the configuration for Fe3+ is 1s22s22p63s23p63d5.
The S2- ion a sulfur atom that has gained two electrons. Since the electron configuration of the S
atom is 1s22s22p63s23p4 (Table 2.2), the configuration for S2- is 1s22s22p63s23p6.

(c) Covalently bonded materials are less dense than metallic or ionically bonded ones because covalent bonds are
directional in nature whereas metallic and ionic are not; when bonds are directional, the atoms cannot pack together
in as dense a manner, yielding a lower mass density.