Cesium and sodium are Group 1 metals, but the coordination number of cesium in the CsCl unit cell is 8, whereas the coordination number of sodium in the NaCl unit cell is 6. What allows cesium to have a larger coordination number?

MCQS on the chemistry, properties, and reactivity of metal-containing compounds. Topics include atomic structure and electron configurations, bonding theories, ionic bonding, ionic solids and packing structures, band theory, alloys, semiconductors, and superconductors, inorganic acids and bases, and the properties and compounds of Group 1-7 elements.