Why does the carbon atom play such a central role in the chemistry of life and what is so special about it? First of all, the compounds possible when carbon is their chief structural component are incredibly diverse. As we see in Section 1.6, the carbon atom can form four covalent bonds...
Why is SiO2 higher melting point than SO2? Where SiO2 has strong covalent bonds between molecules, SO3 only has weak van der waals intermolecular forces holding its molecules together. Since covalent bonds require more energy to overcome than van der waals,SiO2 requires a higher temperature than ...
Why does the color of a copper sulfate solution change when an iron nail is dipped in it? Why is graphite a good conductor whereas diamond is not? (Both contain infinite lattices of covalently bound carbon atoms) Why do covalent compounds not conduct e...
Since these dipole powers are more fragile than covalent or ionic bonds, sub-atomic solids are delicate and have generally low softening temperature. Unadulterated atomic solids are electrical covers however they can be made conductive by doping. Instances of sub-atomic solids ...