AMORPHOUS and

CRYSTALLINE
SOLIDS
 LEARNING COMPETENCIES
• Describe the structure of crystalline and
amorphous solid.
Amorphous Crystalline
 WHAT ARE THE TWO GENERAL
TYPES OF SOLIDS?
• What features can be used to distinguish a
crystalline solid from an amorphous solid?
The differences in properties of these two groups of
solids arise from the presence or absence of long
range order of arrangements of the particles in
the solid.
 ARRANGEMENT of PARTICLES
The components of a solid can be arranged in two general ways:

CRYSTALLINE SOLID AMORPHOUS SOLID

• they can form a regular
repeating three-dimensional
structure called a crystal
lattice, thus producing a
crystalline solid’
• they can aggregate with no
particular long range
order, and form an
amorphous solid (from
the Greek ámorphos,
meaning “shapeless”).
 Crystalline solids are
arranged in fixed geometric
patterns or lattices.
Examples of crystalline solids are ice
and sodium chloride (NaCl), copper
sulfate (CuSO4), diamond, graphite,
and sugar (C12H22O11).
The ordered arrangement of their
units maximizes the space they
occupy and are essentially
incompressible.
EXAMPLES
 Crystalline Solids (vocabulary)
Lattice Unit cell
• is a three-dimensional • is the smallest repeating
system of points unit of a lattice
designating the positions
of the components
(atoms, ions, or molecules)
that make up a crystal
COMMON UNIT CELLS and LATTICES
 Examples of
Amorphous solids have a
amorphous solids are
random orientation of
particles. glass, plastic, coal, and
rubber.
They are considered
super-cooled liquids
where molecules are
arranged in a random
manner similar to the
liquid state.
EXAMPLES
 Differences between AMORPHOUS and CRYSTALLINE
SOLIDS
AMORPHOUS SOLIDS CRYSTALLINE SOLIDS
Particles (atoms, molecules or
Particles are randomly
a. Arrangement ions) are closely packed and
arranged and have no ordered
of Particles have an ordered three-
structure.
dimensional structure.
Do not have sharp melting
b. Melting Point points; they melt over a wide Sharp melting points
range of temperatures
Diamond, graphite, NaCl,
c. Examples Glass, rubber, and plastics
CuSO4*5H2O, and sugar
FOR MORE INFORMATION…
More than 90% of naturally occurring and
artificially prepared solids are crystalline.
Minerals, sand, clay, limestone, metals, alloys,
carbon (diamond and graphite), salts (e.g. NaCl
and MgSO4), all have crystalline structures.
• They have structures formed by repeating three dimensional
patterns of atoms, ions, or molecules.

• The repetition of structural units of the substance over long

atomic distances is referred to as long-range order.

• Amorphous solids (e.g. glass), like liquids, do not have long

range order, but may have a limited, localized order in their
structures.
 BEHAVIOR WHEN HEATED-
CRYSTALLINE
• The presence or absence of long-range order in the structure of
solids results in a difference in the behavior of the solid when
heated.
• The structures of crystalline solids are built from repeating units
called crystal lattices. The surroundings of particles in the
structure are uniform, and the attractive forces experienced by
the particles are of similar types and strength.
 BEHAVIOR WHEN HEATED-
AMORPHOUS

• Amorphous solids soften gradually when they are heated.

They tend to melt over a wide range of temperature.
• This behavior is a result of the variation in the
arrangement of particles in their structures, causing
some parts of the solid to melt ahead of other parts.