Giant and Simple Covalent Structures

Question 1

What are the properties of Simple Structures?

Answer 1

• Have a low melting points and boiling points due to the weak intermolecular forces between the compounds which requires less energy to overcome

-They are poor conductors of heat and electricity because there are no free ions or delocalised electrons

Question 2

What are properties of Giant Covalent Structures?

Answer 2

• They have high melting and boiling points due to the strong covalent bonds that require a lot of energy to break up
• The are poor conductors of electricity apart from graphite (contains delocalised electrons) but the rest have localised electrons which are not free to move through the structure and carry charge

Question 3

What are the examples of Giant Covalent Structures?

Answer 3

• Silicon
• Silicon dioxide
• Graphite
• Diamond

Question 4

What are the properties of Diamond and describe the structure?

Answer 4

• It is made up of 1 carbon which is covalently bonded to 4 other carbons - - It is Tetrahedral structure which is repeated millions of times
• Has strong covalent bonds
• Has a High melting and Boiling points
• It cannot conduct electricity due to no free moving ions or electrons

Question 5

What are the properties of Graphite and describe the structure?

Answer 5

• It is made up of 1 carbon atom which is covalently bonded to 3 other carbon atoms
• Has Rings of six atoms which are held by weak forces of attraction
• It CAN conduct electricity due to the delocalised electrons that are free to move around
• It is soft and slippery due to the layers that slide over each other

Question 6

What are the properties of Silicon and Silicon Dioxide and describe the structure?

Answer 6

• It is made up of 1 silicon atom bonded to 4 oxygen atoms
• It has a Tetrahedral Structure like Diamond
• It has high melting and low boiling point
• It does not conduct electricity