Question

Silicon is found in nature in the form of
(a) Body-centred cubic structure
(b) Hexagonal close-packed structure
(c) Network solid
(d) Face-centred cubic structure

Answer 1

Hint: Some elements of the 14^th group have the tendency to form giant polymeric covalent networks. These structures have purely covalent bonding between the constituents’ atoms.

Complete Step by Step Solution:
The silicon (\[Si\]) is considered the second most abundant elements on the earth. And it is the member of 14th group.
Silicon comes under the class of semi-metals or metalloid.
The \[Si{O_2}\] is the most popular compound of silicon.
Like carbon, silicon also has four valence electrons which can participate in the formation of a covalent solid.
Similar to carbon, silicon also possesses the property of catenation, therefore it can also form a giant covalent polymeric structure. In its structure, every silicon atom is bonded with four other neighboring silicon atoms.
In the covalent polymeric structure, every silicon atom has tetrahedral geometry with \[s{p^3}\] hybridization.
Besides these properties, silicon plays a very important role in the making of glass, cement, and semiconductors.
The above statements concluded that due to the catenation property of the silicon, it can exist in a giant polymeric network in which silicon atoms are connected through a covalent bond. Therefore option (c) is the correct answer.

Note: The commercial source of silicon is sand. The pure silicon is hard, and dark grey in nature and has a metallic lustre. The silicon has a diagonal relationship with boron due to the same electronegativity, atomic radii, and ionisation energy.