The arrangement of the anions around a cation is called the geometry of the cation; e.g. in
[CuCl4]2- the geometry of copper is tetrahedral and the co-ordination number of copper is 4.
The geometry of a cation in an ionic compound can be predicted from the ratio of the ionic radii
of the cation and anion involved.
[Table 5.1: Cation radius/anion radius vs. geometry of cation]
Use data from the Data Booklet to predict the geometry of, and hence the co-ordination number
of, the cation for

Q: What topic does this question test?

This question tests Chemical bonding in A-Level Chemistry (syllabus code 9701). It is worth 11 marks.

Q: Which exam paper is this question from?

This question appeared in the Cambridge A-Level Chemistry Oct/Nov 2017 examination, Paper 4 Variant 2 (9701_w17_qp_42.pdf).

Question

The arrangement of the anions around a cation is called the geometry of the cation; e.g. in
[CuCl4]2- the geometry of copper is tetrahedral and the co-ordination number of copper is 4.
The geometry of a cation in an ionic compound can be predicted from the ratio of the ionic radii
of the cation and anion involved.
[Table 5.1: Cation radius/anion radius vs. geometry of cation]
Use data from the Data Booklet to predict the geometry of, and hence the co-ordination number
of, the cation for

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