Question

Both coal and diamonds are forms of elemental carbon. Coal is brittle while diamonds are considered to be the hardest Of all substances known. What is the appropriate justification for this

Answer 1

arbon, as with many elements, can arrange its atoms into several different geometries, or "allotropes." In pure diamond, every carbon atom is covalently bonded to exactly 4 other carbon atoms in a very specific and energetically favorable geometry. The diamond cannot be broken or scratched unless many covalent bonds are broken, which is difficult to do. In another common allotrope, graphite, every carbon atom is covalently bonded to only 3 other carbon atoms, and the atoms are arranged in sheets that are not covalently bonded to each other. The sheets can be broken apart easily, ultimately meaning that graphite can be easily scratched. Coal is composed of particles of different allotropes of carbon, and some "amorphous carbon," which has no defined geometry in its atomic structure. Without a continuous network of covalent bonds, coal is easily scratched (i.e. it is not hard).