MSE 110 EXAM 2 QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS 2026 VERIFIED.
Who discovered X-rays in 1895 - ANS Wilhelm Rontgen
In a laboratory X-ray tube, what is the continuous background radiation called? -
ANS Bremsstrahlung
In Bragg's Law, what does 'd' represent? - ANS The perpendicular spacing between adjacent
parallel lattice planes
The atomic scattering factor for X-rays at theta = 0 degrees is approximately equal to which
property of the atom? - ANS Atomic number (number of electrons)
As the diffraction angle theta increases, the X-ray atomic scattering factor: - ANS decreases
in a powder X-ray diffraction pattern, what is plotted on the x-axis? - ANS 2-theta (Bragg
angle)
The earliest type of powder diffractometer that used photographic film was called the: -
ANS Debye-Scherrer camera
For a face-centered cubic (FCC) structure, which condition must the Miller indices satisfy for a
reflection to be observed? - ANS h, k, l are all even or all odd
@2026/2027 ALLRIGHTS RESERVED.
, For a body-centered cubic (BCC) structure, reflections are observed only when: - ANS h^2 +
k^2 + I^2 is even
The d-spacing equation for a cubic crystal system is: - ANS 1/d^2 = (h^2 + k^2 + i^2) / a^2
What technique is used as the simplest analysis of a powder diffraction pattern to identify a
material? - ANS Fingerprinting (comparison with database patterns)
The structure factor Fhkl describes what property of a diffracted beam? - ANS The sum of
scattering by all atoms in the unit cell
The Scherrer equation relates peak width to: - ANS Crystallite size
In the Scherrer equation t = 0.9*gamma/ (B cos(theta)), what does B represent? - ANS The
full-width at half maximum (FWHM) in radians?
As the crystallite size decreases, the diffraction peaks become: - ANS Broader
The Rietveld method was first developed for use with which type of diffraction data? -
ANS Powder neutron diffraction data
The temperature factor B in a crystal structure accounts for: - ANS Thermal vibrations of
atoms about their equilibrium positions
In single-crystal X-ray diffraction, a modern detector commonly used is: - ANS CCD (charge-
coupled device)
Why is a single crystal cooled with liquid nitrogen during data collection? - ANS To reduce
thermal motion and concentrate electron density
@2026/2027 ALLRIGHTS RESERVED.
ANSWERS 2026 VERIFIED.
Who discovered X-rays in 1895 - ANS Wilhelm Rontgen
In a laboratory X-ray tube, what is the continuous background radiation called? -
ANS Bremsstrahlung
In Bragg's Law, what does 'd' represent? - ANS The perpendicular spacing between adjacent
parallel lattice planes
The atomic scattering factor for X-rays at theta = 0 degrees is approximately equal to which
property of the atom? - ANS Atomic number (number of electrons)
As the diffraction angle theta increases, the X-ray atomic scattering factor: - ANS decreases
in a powder X-ray diffraction pattern, what is plotted on the x-axis? - ANS 2-theta (Bragg
angle)
The earliest type of powder diffractometer that used photographic film was called the: -
ANS Debye-Scherrer camera
For a face-centered cubic (FCC) structure, which condition must the Miller indices satisfy for a
reflection to be observed? - ANS h, k, l are all even or all odd
@2026/2027 ALLRIGHTS RESERVED.
, For a body-centered cubic (BCC) structure, reflections are observed only when: - ANS h^2 +
k^2 + I^2 is even
The d-spacing equation for a cubic crystal system is: - ANS 1/d^2 = (h^2 + k^2 + i^2) / a^2
What technique is used as the simplest analysis of a powder diffraction pattern to identify a
material? - ANS Fingerprinting (comparison with database patterns)
The structure factor Fhkl describes what property of a diffracted beam? - ANS The sum of
scattering by all atoms in the unit cell
The Scherrer equation relates peak width to: - ANS Crystallite size
In the Scherrer equation t = 0.9*gamma/ (B cos(theta)), what does B represent? - ANS The
full-width at half maximum (FWHM) in radians?
As the crystallite size decreases, the diffraction peaks become: - ANS Broader
The Rietveld method was first developed for use with which type of diffraction data? -
ANS Powder neutron diffraction data
The temperature factor B in a crystal structure accounts for: - ANS Thermal vibrations of
atoms about their equilibrium positions
In single-crystal X-ray diffraction, a modern detector commonly used is: - ANS CCD (charge-
coupled device)
Why is a single crystal cooled with liquid nitrogen during data collection? - ANS To reduce
thermal motion and concentrate electron density
@2026/2027 ALLRIGHTS RESERVED.
