Question

(a) How can diamonds be made artificially? How do synthetic diamonds differ from natural ones?
(b) Give any two differences between the properties of diamond and graphite. What causes these differences?

Answer 1

Hint: Natural process of formation of diamonds is replicated to produce artificial diamonds. So to answer the first part we need to figure out the natural process of the formation of diamonds. The difference can be figured out based on size. Diamond and graphite, both are forms of carbon and have structural differences in them.

Complete answer:
In nature, diamonds are formed when carbon undergoes very high pressure and temperature. Similar conditions are created artificially to produce synthetic diamonds. The core difference between natural and artificial diamonds lies in their size, natural ones are smaller in size while artificial ones are larger in size.
Diamond and graphite are two natural forms of carbon. Both have very different properties despite containing carbon atoms only. Two differences between the properties of diamond and graphite are – diamond is the hardest substance on earth while in comparison to diamond, graphite is so soft. Another difference in conductance of both the substances, diamond is a complete insulator and conducts no electricity while graphite is a conductor of electricity, the conductivity of graphite can be observed by replacing the wire with pencil lead made up of graphite.
These differences arise due to the structural differences among both the substances, the diamond has tetrahedrally arranged carbon atoms while the graphite has a sheet structure made up of carbon atoms.

Note:
Carbon exists in three forms in nature. These forms are – diamond, graphite, and coal. Another form of carbon also exists in nature, i.e. buckminsterfullerene (buckyball or fullerene). Diamond is quite precious and found rarely during coal mining. Graphite is used in pencils and as lubricant due to its slippery nature. Buckminsterfullerene are present in small amounts in soot and in space.