Question

Carbon 60 contains …… pentagons and ………. Hexagons.
A. 20, 12
B. 12, 20
C. 30, 30
D. 24, 36

Answer 1

Hint: Carbon-60 is generally an allotropic form of carbon like graphite, diamond etc. Whereas allotropes can be defined as the different structural forms of the same element but have different physical and chemical properties.

Complete answer:
Carbon-60 can also be known by the name Buckminsterfullerene represented by the formula ${{C}_{60}}$. It has a cage-like fused ring structure known by the name truncated icosahedron and its shape resembles the shape of a soccer ball. In this each carbon atom has three bonds. It is solid in a state seen to be black in color and when it is dissolved in hydrocarbon solvents it produces a violet solution.
Carbon-60 which is known to have shape of truncated icosahedron have 60 vertices and 32 faces which describe that it have 20 hexagons and 12 pentagons where no pentagons will share a vertex these are present with respect to a carbon atom at the vertices of each polygon and a bond along each polygon edge.
Hence from the above discussion we conclude that Carbon 60 contains 12 pentagons and 20 hexagons.

Therefore, Option (B) is the correct answer.

Note: There are many applications of carbon 60 like in medical field it is used chemical traces, water soluble derivative of carbon-60 were discovered to exert an inhibition on the three isoforms of nitric oxide synthase and this can also be used in solar systems.