Chapter 6, Problem 6.49P

Interpretation Introduction

Interpretation:

The energy of a zinc ion and an oxide ion that are at their equilibrium ion-pair separation distance has to be calculated.

Coulomb’s Law of attraction:

Coulomb’s law states that the energy of interaction of two ions is directly proportional to the product their electric charges and is inversely proportional to the distance between them.  The formula is,

  ${\text{E}}_{\text{Coulomb}}\text{=k}\cdot \frac{{\text{Q}}_{\text{1}}{\text{Q}}_{\text{2}}}{\text{d}}$

${\text{Q}}_{\text{1}}{\text{,Q}}_{\text{2}}\text{=}$ Charges of the two ions

$\text{d=}$ Distance between the centers of the two ions

$\text{k=}$ Proportionality constant

The value of proportionality constant depends on the units of charges and distance.