Thanks,

How many atoms are in a body-centered cubic unit cell???
a- one
b- two
c- four
d- six
e- eight

Isn't that two? 1 for the atom in the center and 1 for the corners. There are 8 corners shared by 8 others to make 8/8 or 1. Then 1+1 = 2.

two

To determine the number of atoms in a body-centered cubic (BCC) unit cell, we need to understand the structure of a BCC lattice.

A BCC unit cell consists of eight corner atoms and one atom at the center of the cube. The corner atoms are shared with neighboring unit cells, while the atom in the center is contained only within the unit cell itself.

To calculate the total number of atoms in the BCC unit cell, we sum the number of atoms contributed by the corners and the center.

The number of atoms contributed by the corners is 1/8th of an atom for each corner because each atom is shared between eight adjacent unit cells. Since there are eight corners, the total contribution is:

8 corners * 1/8 of an atom = 1 atom

The atom at the center of the cube is retained completely within the unit cell, so its contribution is:

1 atom * 1 = 1 atom

Adding these contributions together:

1 atom (from the corners) + 1 atom (from the center) = 2 atoms

Therefore, the correct answer is option b: two atoms.