MATERIAL SCIENCE I –TUTORIAL QUESTIONS

1. Cite the difference between atomic mass and atomic weight

2. Briefly cite the main differences between ionic, covalent and metallic bonding
3. Why are covalently bonded materials less dense than ionic or metallic bonded
materials?
4. Compute the percentage ionic character of the interatomic bond for each of the
following compounds: MgO , CdS and FeO
5. What type(s) of bonding would be expected for each of the following materials: Solid
xenon, calcium fluoride (CaF2), bronze, cadmium telluride (CdTe), rubber, and tungsten?
6. Explain why hydrogen fluoride (HF) has a higher boiling temperature than hydrogen
chloride (HCl) even though HF has a lower molecular weight
7. The net potential energy between two adjacent ions, may be represented by the
equation

alculate the bonding energy in terms of the parameters , and using the
following procedure:
1. Differentiate with respect to and then set the resulting expression to zero,
since the curve of versus is a minimum at
2. Solve for the in terms of and which yields , the equilibrium interatomic
spacing
3. Determine the expression for by substituting