Which of the following is not a possible coordination number for a particle in a close-packed structure?
4
6
8
12
A close-packed structure is a crystal structure in which the atoms are arranged in a way that results in maximum packing efficiency. In such a structure, each atom is in contact with several other atoms, and the number of atoms it is in contact with is known as its coordination number.In a close-packed structure, the coordination number of each atom is either 6, 8, 10, or 12, depending on the type of close packing. For example, in a hexagonal close-packed (HCP) structure, each atom has a coordination number of 12, while in a face-centred cubic (FCC) structure, each atom has a coordination number of 12.Therefore, the correct answer to the given question is a) 4. A coordination number of 4 is not possible in a close-packed structure, as it would imply that the atoms are arranged in a simple cubic structure, which does not result in maximum packing efficiency. In a simple cubic structure, each atom is in contact with only 4 other atoms, resulting in a packing efficiency of only .In summary, the coordination number of an atom in a close-packed structure can be 6, 8, 10, or 12, depending on the type of close packing, but it cannot be 4 as this would result in a structure with low packing efficiency.