Concept:Buckminsterfullerene (\( \text{C}_{60} \)) is a spherical allotrope of carbon consisting of pentagonal and hexagonal rings, structurally resembling a soccer ball.
Solution:- Scientifically, a standard \( \text{C}_{60} \) buckyball is composed of exactly 12 five-membered rings (pentagons) and 20 six-membered rings (hexagons).
- Note on Source Material Error: The provided past paper question and its official key contain a significant factual error, presenting the options as "12 and 12" or "14 and 14" and selecting C (12 and 12). While chemically inaccurate, "12 and 12" is the forced answer based on the source's typographical error. A student should always remember the true values are 12 and 20.
Why other options are incorrect:Mathematically, Euler's polyhedron formula applied to fullerenes mandates exactly 12 pentagons. Any answer not starting with 12 is automatically false.
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