A dot and cross diagram for sodium chloride suggests that it is made up of pairs of sodium and chloride ions. It is not. A 3D construction model shows how the ions are arranged in a lattice structure.

Sodium Chloride is an alkali halide with an fcc crystal structure. The basis is two ions, a sodium cation and a chlorine anion. The crystal lattice parameter is 0.563 nm. The diagram shows both a unit ...

AT normal temperatures, cæsium chloride is stable in a body-centred cubic lattice, and at higher temperatures in a simple face-centred lattice of the sodium chloride type. When single crystals were ...