University of Southeastern Philippines

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College of Agriculture and Related Sciences
MATERIALS OF ENGINEERING
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Crystal Structure
Laboratory Exercise No.01
I.

Introduction:
A crystal structure is composed of a unit cell, a set of atoms arranged in a
particular way; which is periodically repeated in three dimensions on a lattice. When the
solid is not crystalline, it is called amorphous. Examples of crystalline solids are metals,
diamond and other precious stones, ice, graphite. Examples of amorphous solids are
glass, amorphous carbon (a-C), amorphous Si, most plastics

II.

Objectives:
1. To learn more about the basic crystal structures that metal atoms form.

III.

Applications:
The properties of metals are very dependent on their crystal structure. The metal
structure can be altered by processing treatments to make them more useful in various
applications.

IV.

Instruments and Accessories:

26 Styrofoam balls, about 1.5" diameter
16 toothpicks (round)

V.

Procedure:
1.Each of the Styrofoam balls will represent an atom and the toothpick will
represent bonds. Attach 10 of the balls together with toothpicks to form a triangle
with four balls at the base. This will form the first layer of the packing model.
Draw a diagram of the arrangement of the atoms in the space below.
2.Attach 6 of the balls together with toothpicks to form a triangle with 3 balls at the
base. This will form the second layer of the packing model. Draw a diagram of
the arrangement of the atoms in the second layer in the space below.
3.Form another triangle of Styrofoam balls like the one in procedure 1 with the
remaining 10 balls.
4.Place the second layer on top of the first one with "atoms" of the second layer
nesting in the hollows between the "atoms" of the first layer. This creates the
closest possible packing of atoms.
5.The third layer can be placed on top of the second layer in one of two positions. It
can be placed so that its "atoms" are directly over those in layer one. This gives
the ABABAB arrangement which corresponds to hexagonal closest packing
(HCP). The third layer can also be placed on top of the second layer so that its
"atoms" are not directly over those in the first layer. This gives the ABCABC

arrangement which corresponds to face centered cubic (FCC). Try both

arrangements with your layers.
VI.

Questions:
1.Which packing arrangement, FCC or HCP, is denser?
2.What is the difference in FCC and HCP arrangements?
3.
About how small would an atom have to be to fit in an interstitial hole in
an FCC or HCP crystal structure?