General

Chemistry 2 11

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 PRE–TEST
Direction: Choose the letter of the best answer.

1. Which of the following solids does not have a well-defined geometric

pattern?
A. amorphous solids C. ionic crystalline solids
B. crystalline solids D. molecular crystalline solids

2. Which of the following is the basic repeating

structural unit of crystalline solids?
A. atom C. molecule
B. compound D. unit cell

3. Which of the following is an amorphous solid that can

convert sunlight into electrical energy?
A. glass B. plastics C. rubber D. silicon

4. Why are the crystalline solids considered as true solids?

A. because of their repeated pattern of arrangement
B. because that can be molded and blown into various shapes
C. because they behave as crystalline at a certain temperature
D. because of its sharp melting point that once it reaches this point it
will immediately change into liquid form

5. Why are the solid-state and molten state of ionic crystals considered
poor electrical conductors?
A. because of delocalized electrons that can freely room across the
entire metal
B. because they have a definite heat of fusion that help them to change
their phase
C. because their particles are held firmly thus there is no enough space
for the ions to move around which make them as non-conductors of
electricity
D. because their particles are NOT held firmly thus there is no enough
space for the ions to move around which make them as non-conductors
of electricity

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 RECAP
In your previous self-learning module, you had learned the effect of
intermolecular forces on the properties of liquids and solids. This time,
we will be very specific on the types of solids with an emphasis on their
molecular structure and intermolecular forces. But before that, let us
have a recap!

Direction: Evaluate the effect of intermolecular forces of molecules to

the following physical properties of solids. Complete the table by
writing the word High or Low.

Have Low or High

Molecules Viscosity Vapor Surface Molar Heat of
with pressure Tension Vaporization
Strong
Intermolecular
Forces
Weak
Intermolecular
Forces

We will explain further these properties specifically on the types of

solids, namely the crystalline and amorphous solids.

L E S S ON

In chemistry, we could also contrast and compare solids. This

module will help you become more familiar with the types of solids and
enable you to differentiate their structure.

Let us think of diamond and cotton candy. What do you notice about
diamond and cotton candy? What makes them alike? Yes, they are
different in many ways, and yet they are both solids. Their structure and
arrangement of their particles give their differences
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For you to know the answer, let us have a closer look at the classes of
solids.
Classes of Solids
A. Crystalline Solids

Crystalline solids are composed of a huge number of small crystals with

a definite geometrical shape that makes them rigid and incompressible.
A repeated pattern of arrangement of particles is indicated with the long-
range order of crystals which is shown in the following examples in figure
1.
Figure 1

Crystalline solids are considered true solids because of their sharp

melting point that once they reach this point they will immediately
change into liquid form. They also have a definite heat of fusion. The
amount of heat absorbed by a unit mass of a given solid at its melting
point has the capability to convert the solid crystal into a liquid.

Properties of Crystalline Solids

1. Unit cell
The unit cell of crystals is the basic repeating structural unit of
crystalline solids. Atoms or molecules are represented by each sphere
and are called a lattice point that is identically arranged. This
arrangement of each lattice point occupied by an atom is the case of most
metals. Figure 2 shows the shapes of crystal structure.

Figure 2
The way how the spheres are arranged in layers is shown in figure 3.
Another thing to consider is that crystalline solids show a plane of
symmetry.

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 Figure 3

2. Stable crystal structure due to intermolecular forces

Each crystal of crystalline solids has a well-defined ordered
structure in three dimensions. Their geometric shape is being fixed by
the net attractive intermolecular forces. Ionic forces, covalent bonds,
London dispersion forces, hydrogen forces, or the combination of all
these forces help the stability of the crystals.
Remember that the structure and properties of crystals (melting point,
density, and hardness) are determined by the types of intermolecular
forces that hold the particles together. And once these forces are broken,
these crystals become liquid at a specific temperature. Right now we will
tackle types of crystalline solids.
3. Types of crystals
a. Ionic crystals
From its name ionic crystal, they are composed of charged particles
where the exact arrangement of ions in a lattice varies according to the
size of the ions in the crystals. Since they are composed of ions, therefore
the built electrostatic interaction is strong. Will this crystal be
characterized as hard solids? Yes, the numerous electrostatic attractions
extend throughout the crystal making the crystals hard. Also, since they
are hard crystals their melting points are high, and once they melt and
turn into liquid state they become good conductors.
Why solid-state and molten state crystals in this type are poor
electrical conductors? Since they are held firmly and no large space for
the ions to move around this is the cause of making them as non-
conductors of electricity.
Ionic crystals are brittle once they are deformed that cause the
attractive forces to be broken. Examples of these types of ionic crystals
are the following compounds in figure 4.

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 Figure 4

b. Metallic crystals
This type of crystals are held together by electrostatic force between
cations and delocalized electrons. Figure 5 shows that the electrons are
weakly attached to the metal atoms. These weakly bound electrons are
called delocalized electrons that can freely room across the entire metal.
Making this type of crystal good conductor of electricity and heat, the
particles can move freely through the crystals and causing the transfer of
the kinetic energy.
Figure 5

Another is that this type of crystals is dense where the atoms are
closely packed making the attractions strong leading to have a high
melting point. Also, this type of crystals is lustrous, meaning they easily
absorb and emit light.

Lastly, they are malleable because the atoms can roll over each
other into new positions without breaking the metallic bond. Examples
of such crystals are gold, aluminum, iron metals, and metallic alloys
(steel, brass, and bronze). Figure 6 shows the structure of some metallic
crystals.
Figure 6

c. Molecular crystals

This is a type of crystalline solids where the lattice points are

occupied by molecules and the attractive forced built between the
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molecules is London dispersion interaction or hydrogen bond. Their
molecules are packed closely as their size and shape allow. The three-
dimensional lattice brought by hydrogen bond is seen in ice molecules.
In sulfur dioxide (SO 2) molecules the predominant attractive force is
dipole-dipole. Other examples of molecular crystals are iodine (I 2),
naphthalene (C10H8), and sugar (C12H22O11). An example of structure
under this type of crystals is given in figure 7.

Figure 7

The presence of London dispersion interaction and hydrogen bond

would mean that there are weak intermolecular forces between the
molecules. This is why most of the molecular crystals have low melting
points at temperatures below 100°C.
It is said and proven that a property of molecular crystals is soft and
brittle. They are also poor electrical conductors in solid and molten states
because of the absence of delocalized electrons.
d. Covalent crystals
The atoms in this type of crystals are bonded covalently. Since they
are bonded covalently, strong intermolecular forces are present that
lead to these molecules to have a very high melting point. And because
of the strength of the forces, there will be no available charged particles
to move through the crystals making it poor conductor of electricity.

The atoms of this type of crystal can be made of one type of atom,
like in the case of diamond and graphite as plain carbon atoms. Others
can be made up of different atoms such as silicon carbide and quartz.
Figure 8 shows examples of crystals under this type.

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 Figure 8

Diamond

B. Amorphous Solids

This type of solids has a structure that lacks a well-defined shape or

regular three-dimensional arrangement of atoms. They are considered
pseudo-solids or super cooled liquids because they can be molded and
blown into various shapes and behave as crystalline at a certain
temperature. Glass is the most versatile material of amorphous solid
and are sometimes called supercooled liquid. If we say supercooled
liquid (liquids that have a temperature lower than its freezing point and
that has not solidified). When a glass object shatters, it does so in a very
irregular way because its atoms do not align themselves or it does not
have a plane of symmetry and have physical properties in all directions,
not like crystalline solids that have regular planes of cleavage.

Aside from glass we also have gels, rubber, plastics, various

polymers, wax, thin films as good examples of amorphous solids.
Amorphous silicon is a photovoltaic material that is responsible for
converting sunlight into electrical energy. Some naturally occurring
amorphous solids have impurities and so this will let the solid to have a
short- order of arrangement of molecules.

In terms of their melting points, they do not have sharp melting points
since they have intermolecular forces weaker than those in crystalline
solids. Meaning, different amounts of thermal energy are needed to
overcome these different interactions. Thus, these solids tend to soften
slowly over a wide temperature range rather than having a well-defined
melting point like a crystalline solid. Figure 9 shows the structures of
chalk and glass.
 Figure 9

ACTIVITIES

Activity 1
Direction: Analyze each of the following statements whether it describes
the types of solid crystals. Write TRUE if the statement is correct but if
it’s false, change the underlined word or group of words to make the
whole statement true. Write your answer on a separate sheet of paper.

1. The presence of London dispersion interaction and hydrogen bond

would mean that there are weak intermolecular forces in ionic crystals.
2. Molecular crystals are malleable because the atoms can roll over
each other into new positions without breaking the metallic bond.
3. Cotton candy is an example of amorphous crystals because of its
well-defined geometric shape.
4. Each crystal of crystalline solids has a well-defined ordered
structure in three dimensions.
5. Since covalent crystals are held firmly, that no large space enough
for the ions to move around, thus making them as non-conductors of
electricity.

Now, use these facts on properties of water in answering Activity 2.

Activity 2
Direction: Identify the type of crystals of the following solids.
Put a check mark on the cell corresponding to your answer.
 Types of Crystal
Solid Crystalline Crystals Amorphous
s Ionic Covalent Metallic Molecular Crystals
1. Diamond

2. Alloy

3. Graphite

4. CO2

5. Salt

6. Ice crystals

7. Potassium
bromide
 WRAP–UP

Direction: Complete the table.

Types of Solid Type of Melting Electrical / Heat

crystals Interaction/s point (High Conductor
or Low) (Good or Poor)
Ionic crystalline
solids
Molecular
crystalline solids
Metallic
crystalline solids
Covalent
crystalline solids
Amorphous
crystals

POST TEST
Direction: Choose the letter of the best answer. For items 1 to 3, refer
to these choices:
A. quartz C. salt
B. rubber D. sugar

Which among the above compounds:

1. has the strongest intermolecular forces and ionic crystal?
2. has covalent crystals with a very high melting point?

3. is an amorphous solid with no sharp melting points?

4. Which of the following best describes the melting point of

amorphous solid?
A. Amorphous solids have definite melting points since they have a weak
 intermolecular force
B. Amorphous solids have definite melting points since they have a
strong intermolecular force
C. Amorphous solids do not have sharp melting points since they have a
weak intermolecular force
D. Amorphous solids do not have a sharp melting point since they have
a strong intermolecular forces

5. Which of the following solids best describes a crystalline solid?

A. They are composed of a huge number of small crystals with a
definite geometrical shape making them rigid and incompressible
B. They are composed of a huge number of small crystals with no
definite geometrical shape making them rigid and incompressible
C. They are composed of a huge number of small crystals with
indefinite geometrical shapes making them rigid and
incompressible.
D. They are composed of a huge number of small crystals with a
definite geometrical shape making them rigid and highly
compressible.