Answer to Question #55309 in General Chemistry for Lia

Question

Based on your observations of acetamide when it reformed a solid after melting, does acetamide form a crystalline or amorphous solid? Explain the difference between these two terms as part of your answer.

Answer 1

Acetamide forms crystalline structure.
There are some differences between crystalline and amorphous structure:
1. Characteristic geometry. Crystalline solids have regular geometry, amorphous solids do not have regular arrangement of particles.
2. Melting points. Amorphous solids unlike crystalline don`t have particular melting points.
3. Isotropy and anisotropy. Crystalline solids are anisotropic and amorphous are isotropic.
4. Amorphous solid are less rigid.
5. Amorphous solids are always unsymmetrical unlike crystalline solid.