Chemical Bonds Quiz
- By Susan K. Lewis
- Posted 01.27.11
- NOVA
What makes diamond the hardest substance in the world and graphite—the stuff of pencil lead—comparatively so soft? Both are made of nothing but carbon atoms. The answer lies in the chemical bonds among those atoms and how they give rise to different structures. In this quiz, explore what chemical bonding is, and how it accounts for the properties of different materials.
Launch Interactive
Explore what holds atoms together to form the myriad chemical substances found in our world.
Credits
- Producer:
- Susan K. Lewis
- Designers:
- Anya Vinokour and Tara Taylor
- Developers:
- Brenden Kootsey and Daniel Hart
- Special thanks to Megan Frary and Kevin Jones for providing editorial review.
Images
- (graphite and diamond)
- © Gene Chutka /iStockphoto
- (periodic table with test tubes)
- © Pali Rao/iStockphoto
- (water molecule model)
- © Carolina K. Smith, M.D./iStockphoto
- (water molecule showing bonds)
- © WGBH Educational Foundation
- (neon sign)
- © PhotographerOlympus/iStockphoto
- (oxygen diagram)
- © Chris Lamphear/iStockphoto
- (Gilbert Lewis)
- Courtesy Bancroft Library, University of California
- (structure of NaCl)
- Courtesy Ausis/Wikimedia Commons
- (salt shaker)
- © vikif/iStockphoto
- (copper ore)
- © ElementalImaging/iStockphoto
- (pot on stove)
- © YinYang/iStockphoto
- (gecko)
- © Eric Isselée/iStockphoto
- (diagrams of diamond and graphite)
- Materialscientist/Wikimedia Commons
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