JEE Main Chemistry question

Diamond and graphite are both made of carbon atoms. Diamond is extremely hard, whereas graphite is soft. This is because:

(A)The chemical bonds between any two carbon atoms in diamond are stronger
(B)Diamond is ionic whereas graphite is covalent
(C)Each carbon atom in diamond is chemically bonded to a greater number of neighbouring carbon atomsCorrect
(D)Certain atoms in diamond are smaller in size

Answer: (C)

Solution

Individual bonds in diamond and graphite are of comparable strength; the crucial structural difference is connectivity — each carbon in diamond bonds to four neighbours in a rigid 3D network, while each carbon in graphite bonds to only three

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Question ID VK-138905