A sample of high-purity copper metal is hammered into a thin foil. At the particulate level, copper is best represented by a regular array of identical Cu nuclei surrounded by delocalized valence electrons.
Answer the following about this metallic solid at the particle level.
(a) Draw a three-dimensional particle-level diagram that represents one complete face-centered cubic (fcc) unit cell of copper. Use one symbol for Cu nuclei and a different symbol or shading for the delocalized electrons. Clearly indicate the positions of atoms on faces, corners, and any atoms completely inside the unit cell boundaries.
(b) On the diagram from part (a), shade or otherwise denote the regions that best represent the highest probability density of the delocalized electrons. Briefly describe the physical significance of those regions in one or two complete sentences.
(c) Explain, in terms of the structure you drew, why copper foil can be bent without breaking while maintaining electrical conductivity. Your explanation should reference both the geometric arrangement of ions and the role of the delocalized electrons.