Which is an example of an ionic lattice?

• A. NaCl
• B. Diamond
• C. H2O
• D. Cu

Answer: (A)

An ionic lattice is a solid in which ions are arranged in a regular, repeating 3D pattern held together by strong electrostatic forces between opposite charges. Sodium chloride fits this description perfectly: it’s made of Na+ and Cl− ions in a fixed, repeating lattice, with each ion surrounded by ions of the opposite charge. This creates a stable network of ionic bonds.

This differs from diamonds, which are a covalent network where each carbon forms strong covalent bonds to four neighbors in a three-dimensional framework; from solid water, which is a molecular lattice held together mainly by hydrogen bonds between whole H2O molecules; and from copper, which is a metallic lattice with a sea of delocalized electrons rather than a lattice of discrete ions.