Crystalline and Amorphous Solids

Water has unique properties due to its molecular structure and intermolecular forces. As a polar molecule, water is able to form hydrogen bonds between oxygen and hydrogen atoms of neighboring molecules. This allows water to have relatively high boiling and freezing points compared to other molecules of similar molar mass. It also gives water high heat capacity, heat of vaporization, and surface tension due to cohesive and adhesive properties. These properties are important for regulating temperature and transporting nutrients and water throughout living systems. Crystalline solids have a long-range orderly arrangement of particles that gives them a definite geometric shape, while amorphous solids lack any long-range order and have an irregular, non-crystalline structure.

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Crystalline and Amorphous Solids

Uploaded by

Ayesha Mhallawi

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Crystalline and Amorphous solids:

 Explain the properties of water with its molecular structure and intermolecular
forces.

Each molecule of water consists of one atom of oxygen and two atoms of hydrogen,
so it has the chemical formula H2O. Which means, water has polar O-H bonds. The
negative O atoms attract the positive H atoms in nearby molecules, leading to the unusually
strong type of dipole-dipole force called a hydrogen bond. Since water has hydrogen
bonds, it also has dipole-induced dipole and London dispersion forces.

Water molecules are polar, so they form hydrogen bonds. This gives water unique
properties, such as a relatively high boiling point, high specific heat, cohesion,
adhesion and density.

1. Water is polar. Water molecules are polar, with partial positive charges on the
hydrogens, a partial negative charge on the oxygen, and a bent overall structure. This is
because oxygen is more electronegative, meaning that it is better than hydrogen at attracting
electrons.

2. Water is an excellent solvent. Water has the unique ability to dissolve many polar
and ionic substances. This is important to all living things because, as water travels through
the water cycle, it takes many valuable nutrients along with it!

3. Water has high heat capacity. It takes a lot of energy to raise the temperature of a
certain amount of water by a degree, so water helps with regulating temperature in the
environment. For example, this property allows the temperature of water in a pond to stay
relatively constant from day to night, regardless of the changing atmospheric temperature.

4. Water has high heat of vaporization. Humans (and other animals that sweat) use
water’s high heat of vaporization to cool off. Water is converted from its liquid form to steam
when the heat of vaporization is reached. Since sweat is made mostly of water, the
evaporating water absorbs excess body heat, which is released into the atmosphere. This is
known as evaporative cooling.

5. Water has cohesive and adhesive properties. Water molecules have

strong cohesive forces due to their ability to form hydrogen bonds with one another.
Cohesive forces are responsible for surface tension, the tendency of a liquid’s surface to
resist rupture when placed under tension or stress. Water also has adhesive properties that
allow it to stick to substances other than itself.

These cohesive and adhesive properties are essential for fluid transport in many forms of
life. For example, they allow nutrients to be transported to the top of a tree against the force
of gravity.

6. Water is less dense as a solid than as a liquid. As water freezes, the molecules
form a crystalline structure that spaces the molecules further apart than in liquid water. This
means that ice is less dense than liquid water, which is why it floats.

This property is important, as it keeps ponds, lakes, and oceans from freezing solid and
allows life to continue to thrive under the icy surface.

 Describe the difference in structure of crystalline and amorphous solids.

Crystals have an orderly arrangement of their constituent particles. In comparison,

amorphous solids have no such arrangement. Their particles are randomly organized.
Crystals have a long order arrangement of their particles.

Amorphous solids are rigid structures but they lack a well-defined shape. They do not have a
geometric shape. So they are non-crystalline. This is why they do not have edges like
crystals do. In the other hand, crystalline solids are firm, hold a definite and fixed shape, and
are rigid and incompressible. They generally have geometric shapes and flat faces. And
examples include diamonds, metals, salts etc.