What are unit cells? | Chemistry Olympiad explainers

A 3D illustration of a crystal unit cell, with spheres representing ions in a cubic arrangement

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Try this explainer to help students get to grips with unit cells and the structure of crystals as part of their preparation for the Chemistry Olympiad.

While crystal unit cells have featured in past Olympiad papers, the topic is often less familiar to students at the time they take part in the competition. This explainer provides an introduction to unit cells in crystalline solids to consolidate students’ understanding of the key ideas.

Students read the introduction, before taking a look at a worked example of a past Olympiad question on the topic. They then have a go at answering a past question themselves, before checking their answers.

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