Quarter 3 - Module 1C: Nature of Crystals
Quarter 3 - Module 1C: Nature of Crystals
Quarter 3 - Module 1C: Nature of Crystals
NOT
Quarter 3 - Module 1C
Nature of Crystals
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General Chemistry 2
Quarter 3 - Module 1C:
Nature of Crystals
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for educational purposes only. Borrowed materials (i.e. songs, stories, poems,
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Table of Contents
What’s New…………………………………………………………………1
What Is It .....................................................................................................2
Summary………...…………………………………………………………………………12
Assessment ……………………………………………………………………….……………....12
Key to Answers……………………………………………………………….……………………13
References ............................................................................................................ …16
Module 1C
Nature of Crystals
To achieve the learning competency cited above, you are to do the following:
• Take your time reading the lessons carefully.
• Follow the directions and/or instructions in the activities and exercises diligently.
• Answer all the given tests and exercises.
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Icons of this Module
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What I Know
(Pre-Test)
Directions: Read and answer each item carefully and choose the letter of the best
answer.
1. In a body-centered cubic lattice, how many atoms are contained in a unit cell?
a. one b. two c. three d. four e. five
3. In a face-centered cubic lattice, how many atoms are contained in a unit cell?
a. one b. two c. four d. five e. six
4. In any cubic lattice, an atom lying at the corner of a unit cell is shared equally
by how many unit cells?
a. one b. two c. eight d. four e. sixteen
6. In a cubic lattice, an atom on the edge of a unit cell is shared equally by how
many unit cells?
a. one b. two c. eight d. four e. twelve
7. A single substance that can crystallize in more than one arrangement is said
to be _______.
a. isomorphous b. amorphous c. primitive
d. triclinic e. polymorphous
8-10. What is the coordination number of each sphere in (8) a simple cubic cell, (9) a
body-centered cubic cell, and (10) a face-centered cubic cell? Assume that the
spheres are all the same.
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Lesson
1 Nature of Crystals
What I Need to Know
What’s In
We addressed in the previous lesson the properties of water such as its high
specific heat. As a consequence, water can give off a lot of heat with just a small
decrease in its temperature. Water's most peculiar property is that its solid form is less
dense than its liquid form on the surface of liquid water, that’s why ice floats.
What’s New
Activity 1. Examine!
Directions: Examine the images below and answer the questions that follow.
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What is It
Crystal Structure
Ice is a crystalline solid, which possesses rigid and long-range order; its atoms,
molecules, or ions occupy specific positions. In a crystalline solid, the arrangement of
such particles is such that the net attractive intermolecular forces are at their limit.
Ionic forces, covalent bonds, van der Waals forces, hydrogen bonds, or a combination
of these forces may be the forces responsible for a crystal's stability. Amorphous
solids such as glass lack a well-defined arrangement and long-range molecular order.
A unit cell is the basic repeating structural unit of a crystalline solid. Figure 1
shows a unit cell and its extension in three dimensions. An atom, ion, or molecule is
defined by each sphere and is called a lattice point. The lattice point in many crystals
does not necessarily contain such a particle. Instead, around each lattice point, there
might be multiple atoms, ions, or molecules identically arranged. However, for
convenience, we can assume that an atom occupies each lattice point. For certain
metals, this is the case. In terms of one of the seven types of unit cells, any crystalline
solid can be represented. Since all sides and all angles are equal, the geometry of the
cubic unit cell is especially clear. Each of the unit cells forms the lattice structure typical
of a crystalline solid when replicated in space in all three dimensions.
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Figure 1.(a) A unit cell and
(b) its extension in three
dimensions. The black
spheres represent either
atoms or molecules.
Chang, 2010
Packing Spheres
By considering the various forms of packing of a number of similar spheres (Ping-
Pong balls, for example) to form an ordered three-dimensional structure, we can
understand the general geometric requirements for crystal formation. The kind of unit
cell we have is defined by the way the spheres are organized in layers.
A layer of spheres can be arranged in the simplest case, as seen in Figure 3 (a). By
placing a layer above and below this layer, the three-dimensional structure can be
created in such a way that spheres in one layer are directly over the spheres in the
layer below it. As in the case of a crystal, this method can be expanded to produce
several many layers. Focusing on a 'x' sphere, we see that it is in contact with four
spheres on its own layer, one sphere on the top layer, and one sphere on the bottom
layer. A coordination number of 6 is said to have each sphere in this arrangement
since it has six immediate neighbors. The coordination number is defined as the
number of atoms (or ions) surrounding an atom (or ion) in a crystal lattice. Its value
gives us a measure of how closely the spheres are packed together the greater the
number of coordination, the closer each other is to the spheres. A simple cubic cell
(scc) [Figure 3(b)] is called the fundamental, repeating unit in the array of spheres.
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Chang, 2010
Figure 3. Arrangement of identical spheres in a simple cubic cell. (a) Top view
of one layer of spheres. (b) Definition of a simple cubic cell. (c) Because each
sphere is shared by eight unit cells and there are eight corners in a cube, there
is the equivalent of one complete sphere inside a simple cubic unit cell.
The other types of cubic cells are the body-centered cubic cell (bcc) and the face-
centered cubic cell (fcc) (Figure 4). A body-centered cubic arrangement differs
from a simple cube in that the second layer of spheres fits into the depressions of the
first layer and the third layer into the depressions of the second layer (Figure 5).
The coordination number of each sphere in this structure is 8 (each sphere is in contact
with four spheres in the layer above and four spheres in the layer below). In the face-
centered cubic cell, there are spheres at the center of each of the six faces of the
cube, in addition to the eight corner spheres.
Chang, 2010
Since each unit cell is adjacent to other unit cells in a crystalline solid, most of
the atoms of a cell are exchanged by adjacent cells. For instance, in all cubic types,
every corner atom belongs to eight cells of one unit [Figure 6(a)]; an edge atom is
shared by four unit cells [Figure 6(b)], and a face-centered atom is shared by two
unit cells [Figure 6(c)]. Each corner sphere is divided into eight unit cells because
there would be the equivalent of just one full sphere within a simple cubic unit cell, and
there are eight corners in a cube (see Figure 4). The equivalent of two complete
spheres, one in the middle and eight mutual corner spheres, is included in a body-
centered cubic cell. There are four complete spheres in a face-centered cubic cell:
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three out of the six face-centered atoms and one out of the eight shared corner
spheres.
Chang, 2010
Figure 5. Arrangement of identical spheres in a body-centered
cube. (a) Top view. (b) Definition of a body-centered cubic unit
cell. (c) There is the equivalent of two complete spheres inside
a body-centered cubic unit cell.
Figure 6.(a) A corner atom in any cell is shared by eight unit cells.
Chang, 2010 (b) An edge atom is shared by four unit cells.
(c) A face-centered atom in a cubic cell is shared by two unit cells.
Closest Packing
The simple cubic and body-centered cubic cells obviously have more free space
than in a cubic cell face-centered. Closest packing, the most efficient arrangement
of spheres, starts with the structure shown in Figure 7(a), which we call layer A.
Focusing on the only sphere enclosed, we see that in that layer it has six immediate
neighbors. The spheres are packed into the depressions between the spheres in the
second layer (which we call layer B) in the first layer, so that all the spheres are as
close together as possible [Figure 7(b)].
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Figure 7. (a) In a close-packed layer,
each sphere is in contact with six
others. (b) Spheres in the second
layer fit into the depressions between
the first-layer spheres. (c) In the
hexagonal close-packed structure,
each third-layer sphere is directly
over a first-layer sphere. (d) In the
cubic close-packed structure, each
third-layer sphere fits into a
depression that is directly over a
depression in the first layer.
Chang, 2010
There are two ways that the second layer can be filled by a third-layer sphere to
achieve the nearest packing. The spheres should fit into the depressions so that each
sphere of the third layer is directly over the sphere of the first layer [Figure 7(c)]. We
often name the third layer layer A, since there is no distinction between the
arrangement of the first and third layers. Alternatively, the spheres of the third layer
can fit into the depressions that lie directly in the first layer over the depressions [Figure
7(d)]. We name the third layer layer C in this case. The 'exploded opinions' and the
systems arising from these two arrangements are shown in Figure 8.
The ABA arrangement is known as the hexagonal close-packed (hcp) structure,
and the ABC arrangement is the cubic close-packed (ccp) structure, which
corresponds to the already described face-centered cube. Notice that in the hcp
structure, spheres occupy the same vertical position in every other layer (ABABAB. .
.), while in the ccp structure, spheres occupy the same vertical position in every fourth
layer (ABCABCA. . .). Every sphere has a coordination number of 12 in both structures
(each sphere is in contact with six spheres in its own layer, three spheres in the layer
above, and three spheres in the layer below). The most effective way of packing
identical spheres in a unit cell is by using both the hcp and ccp structures, and there
is no way to increase the amount of coordination to beyond 12.
Many monatomic metals and noble gases form crystals with structures of hcp
or ccp. Magnesium, titanium, and zinc, for example, crystallize with their atoms in a
hcp array, while aluminum, nickel, and silver crystallize in the ccp structure. With the
exception of helium, all solid noble gases crystallize in the hcp structure.
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Figure 8. Exploded views of
(a) a hexagonal close-packed
structure and (b) a cubic close-
packed structure. The arrow is
tilted to show the face-centered
cubic unit cell more clearly. Note
that this arrangement is the same
as the face-centered unit cell.
Chang, 2010
Chang, 2010
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Amorphous Solids
In crystalline form, solids are most stable. However, if a solid is quickly formed
(If a liquid is rapidly cooled, for example), the atoms or molecules do not have time to
align themselves in places other than those of a normal crystal and may be locked. It
is said that the resulting solid is amorphous. Amorphous solids, such as glass, lack
a regular three-dimensional arrangement of atoms. We will briefly address the
properties of glass in this segment. Glass is one of the most important and versatile
products in civilization. It is also one of the oldest articles of glass, dating back to 1000
b.c. Glass commonly refers to an optically transparent fusion product of inorganic
materials that has cooled to a rigid state without crystallizing. We mean that the glass
is formed by mixing molten silicon dioxide (SiO2), its main ingredient, with compounds
such as sodium oxide (Na2O), boron oxide (B2O3), and color and other properties of
certain transition metal oxides. Glass behaves more like a liquid than a solid in certain
ways. Studies of X-ray diffraction show that long-range periodic order is missing in
glass. Today, there are around 800 distinct glass forms in general use. Two-
dimensional schematic representations of crystalline quartz and amorphous quartz
glass are shown in Figure 10. The structure and properties of quartz, Pyrex, and soda-
lime glass are shown in Table 1.
The glass color is primarily due to the presence of metal ions (as oxides). Green glass,
for example, contains oxide of iron(III), Fe2O3, or oxide of copper(II), CuO; yellow glass
contains uranium(IV) oxide, UO2; cobalt(II) and copper are present in blue glass;
(II)Oxides, CoO and CuO; and small pieces of gold and copper include red glass. Note
that most of the ions mentioned here are derived from metals in transition.
Chang,2010
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Table 1.Composition and Properties of Three Types of Glass
What’s More
>You will observe granules of sugar, salt, and pepper under a magnifying glass, and
observe the similarities and differences among these common materials.
>A pinch of each material should be taken from its container and placed on a piece
of paper or board paper.Using different magnifying glasses with different powers,
you will examine the grains.
*For those who have no magnifying glass, you can look at the picture or open the
link located below the picture.
Sugar Granules
https://bit.ly/2KH7cSR
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Salt Granules Pepper Granules
https://bit.ly/34wjVyFhttps://bit.ly/37zprTb
Can you see the difference between the sugar and salt granules?
Can you see the different angles?
Are there angles in the pepper? Does it look crystalline?
Chang, 2010
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3. The densities of the elements K, Ca, Sc, and Ti are 0.86, 1.5, 3.2,and 4.5 g/cm3,
respectively. One of these elements crystallizes in a body-centered cubic structure;
the other three crystallize in a face-centered cubic structure. Which one crystallizes
in the body-centered cubic structure? Justify your answer.
What I Can Do
1. (a) Draw a picture that represents a crystalline solid at the atomic level.
(b) Now draw a picture that represents an amorphous solid at the atomic
level.
2. Two patterns of packing for two different spheres are shown here.
For each structure
(a) draw the two-dimensional unit cell;
(b) determine the angle between the lattice vectors, g, and determine
whether the lattice vectors are of the same length or of different lengths;
and
(c) determine the type of two-dimensional lattice.
Chang, 2010
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Summary:
1. All solids are either crystalline (with a regular structure of atoms, ions, or
molecules) or amorphous (without a regular structure). Glass is an example of
an amorphous solid.
2. The basic structural unit of a crystalline solid is the unit cell, which is repeated
to form a three-dimensional crystal lattice.
Assessment: (Post-Test)
Directions: Read and answer each question carefully. Write your answers on a
separate sheet of paper.
1. In a cubic lattice, an atom on the edge of a unit cell is shared equally by how
many unit cells?
2. A single substance that can crystallize in more than one arrangement is said
to be _______.
(a) isomorphous (b) amorphous
(c) triclinic (d) polymorphous
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What I Know
1. b
2. c
3. c
4. c
5. b
6. d
7. e
8. 6
9. 8
10. 12
What’s More
1. Sugar and salt look like crystals. Pepper doesn’t look like a crystal.
2. The crystals are more regular in shape. Pepper is irregular and all the
grains look different.
Key to Answers
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What I Have Learned
1. Crystalline SiO2
2. Tetragonal
3. Potassium. A body-centered cubic structure has more empty space than a face-
centered cubic one. The more empty space, the less dense the solid. We expect the
element with the lowest density, potassium, to adopt the body-centered cubic
structure.
What I Can Do
1.
2.
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Assessment
1. D
2. D
3. C
4. A
5. B
References
Ayson, M.F., De Borja, R.S., Ysmael, M.C. (2016). General Chemistry 2 ( Teacher’s
Manual). Vibal Group, Inc. Araneta Avenue, Quezon City
Brown, T.L., LeMay Jr., H.E., Bursten, B.E., Murphy, C.J., Woodward, P.M.,
Stoltzfus, M.W. (2015). Chemistry The Central Science. 13th Edition. Pearson
Education Inc. United States of America
Licuanan, P.B. (2016). Teaching Guide for Senior High School (GENERAL
CHEMISTRY 2). Commission on Higher Education. Diliman, Quezon City
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