Advertisements
Advertisements
Question
Why is graphite a good conductor of electricity but diamond is a non-conductor of electricity?
Advertisements
Solution
Graphite is a good conductor of electricity because of the presence of free electrons in its crystal. As we know that an atom of carbon has 4 valence electrons, in a graphite crystal, each carbon atom is connected to only three other carbon atoms by covalent bonds. This means that the fourth valence electron of each carbon atom is free. These free moving electrons are responsible for the conduction of electricity in a graphite crystal. But in the case of diamond these free electrons are not available due to its structure. Hence, diamond is a non-conductor.
APPEARS IN
RELATED QUESTIONS
Give appropriate scientific reasons for Carbon tetrachloride does not conduct electricity.
Name the hardest natural substance known.
What type of bonds are present in hydrogen chloride and oxygen?
Fill in the blank in the following sentence:
Two atoms of the same element combine to form a molecule. The bond between them is known as ................ bond.
What type of chemical bonds are formed by carbon? Why?
Why is graphite used for making dry cell electrodes but diamond is not?
State one test by which sodium chloride can be distinguished from sugar.
Give the formula of the compound that would be formed by the combination of the following pair of elements:
K and H
Using electron-dot diagrams which show only the outermost shell electrons, show how a molecule of nitrogen, N2, is formed from two nitrogen atoms. What name is given to this type of bonding? (Atomic number of nitrogen is 7)
An element A has 4 valence electrons in its atom whereas element B has only one valence electron in its atom. The compound formed by A and B does not conduct electricity. What is the nature of chemical bond in the compound formed? Give its electron-dot structure.
Give the formulae of the chlorides of the elements X and Y having atomic numbers of 3 and 6 respectively. Will the properties of the two chlorides be similar or different? Explain your answer.
Explain the following term with example.
Homopolymer
Draw an electron dot diagram to show the formation of the following compound.
Magnesium chloride [ H=1, C=6, Mg=12, Cl=17].
Complete the following activity.
Write the names of the hydrocarbons for the following structural formula.
(isobutylene, cyclohexane, propene, cyclohexene, cyclopentane, benzene, propyne, isobutane, propane)
| \[\begin{array}{cc}\phantom{......}\ce{H}\phantom{...}\ce{H}\phantom{...}\ce{H}\phantom{..}\\ \phantom{.....}|\phantom{....}|\phantom{....}|\\ \ce{H - C - C = C}\\\phantom{.....}|\phantom{.........}|\\ \phantom{.....}\ce{H}\phantom{........}\ce{H}\end{array}\] |
Complete the following activity.
Write the names of the hydrocarbons for the following structural formula.
(isobutylene, cyclohexane, propene, cyclohexene, cyclopentane, benzene, propyne, isobutane, propane)
| \[\begin{array}{cc} \phantom{.........}\ce{H}\\ \phantom{.........}|\\ \ce{H - C ≡ C - C - H}\\ \phantom{.........}|\\ \phantom{.........}\ce{H} \end{array}\] |
Give an example for each of the following statement.
A compound in which three covalent bonds are formed.
Carbon forms four covalent bonds by sharing its four valence electrons with four univalent atoms, e.g. hydrogen. After the formation of four bonds, carbon attains the electronic configuration of
Write notes on the characteristics of covalent compounds.
