Assume that the van der waals b constant for xenon (see table 1c.3- or 1.6 old version - van der waals coefficients) divided by avogadro's number represents the volume of a single xenon atom. assume that xenon atom is spherical, and estimate the radius (in meters) of a xenon atom using the formula vsphere = (4/3)rır3.

The estimated radius is 2.734*10^(-10) m.

Explanation:

If we assume the van der Waals constant b for Xenon divided by Avogadro's number gives the volume of a single Xenon, we have

We can express this volume in other units, more suitable for the size of an atom:

The volume of the sphere is

Then we can rearrange to clear r

The estimated radius is 0.2734 nm. As the problem ask for the radius to be in meters (1 nm = 10^(-9) m), we can multiply it by 10^(-9) and determine that the radius is 2.734*10^(-10) m.