Giant Covalent Substances

Question 1

Why is diamond the hardest substance known to man?

Answer 1

Each carbon joined to 4 others by covalent bonds - these are strong and there are a lot of them; takes a lot of energy to break them all (even more than an ionic lattice)

Question 2

Describe the arrangement of Graphite?

Answer 2

Made up of rings of 6 carbons joined together, arranged in layers, each carbon is joined to 3 others

Question 3

What makes Graphite stable?

Answer 3

Donates an electron to the area between the layers

Question 4

What makes Graphite useful for pencils?

Answer 4

Layers have weak forces - slide off easily

Question 5

Why can Graphite conduct electricity?

Answer 5

Each carbon has 1 delocalised electron in between the layers

Question 6

What are Fullerenes good for?

Answer 6

Drug delivery and nanoscience

Question 7

Give 3 examples of giant covalent structures?

Answer 7

Fullerenes, graphite and diamonds

Question 8

Diamond, graphite, fullerenes and silicon dioxide are all types of what?

Answer 8

Macromolecules