The smallest repeating portion of a crystal lattice that shows the full symmetry of the crystal is called the

  • A. unit cell
  • B. crystal face
  • C. lattice point
  • D. domain

Explanation

Stacking the unit cell repeatedly in three dimensions generates the entire crystal, so knowing its dimensions and contents describes the whole structure. A lattice point is a single position within that cell rather than the repeating block itself. The seven crystal systems are classified by the shapes and angles the unit cell can take.

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