different allotropes simultaneously at normal pressure
(approximately 1 atm), has more isotopes than any other element on
the periodic table (10 that are stable, 18 that are radioactive
with relatively short half-lives-including the doubly magic isotope
Tin-100, which was not discovered until 1994 with an unexpectedly
short half-life of less than a minute), and "tin pest" may have
been more responsible for Napoleon's defeat on the frozen tundra of
Siberia than any other single factor.
Using the below table please solve the following questions:
- 5 Tin Has A Highly Crystalline Structure Can Exist As Two Different Allotropes Simultaneously At Normal Pressure Appr 1 (38.83 KiB) Viewed 123 times
- 5 Tin Has A Highly Crystalline Structure Can Exist As Two Different Allotropes Simultaneously At Normal Pressure Appr 2 (295.17 KiB) Viewed 123 times
Which is the more stable allotrope of tin - B-Sn, a.k.a., white tin, with its tetragonal crystal structure, OR a-Sn, a.k.a., gray tin, with its cubic crystal structure? Please explain. Speculate whether white tin and gray tin have the same isotopic abundance. (Namely, that BOTH allotropes are 32.58% Sn-120, 24.22% Sn-118, 14.54% Sn-116, etc; OR are there different isotopic abundances for each of the allotropes?) What do you THINK, and why? For the following reaction as written, white tingray tin, calculate AH', AS°, and AGº. Is this process spontaneous as written? Please explain. Is it spontaneous as written at every temperature? Please explain. Speculate whether the process of “tin pest” is thermodynamically or kinetically driven. What do you THINK, and why? Finally, do the data for the two allotropes of tin indicate or suggest anything about the relative stabilities of the cubic versus the tetragonal crystal lattices? Please elaborate.