Why do diamond and graphite have different physical properties even though they are both entirely composed of carbon?

Answer 1

Since the chemical properties remain same,The physical structural form of carbons varies in both diamond and graphite.Here diamond is called as the strongest substance ever known.graphite is a good conductor on electricity as it gives out one free electron for generating electricity.

Answer 2

simply...

Graphite is carbon organised into line structures whereas diamond is in what is caled a giant crystaline structure. Each carbon atom has bonds with more carbon atoms around it than other carbon substances like graphite

Answer 3

It is the nature of the natural world that different combinations of minerals form different allotropes.

From Wikipedia:

"Allotropy or allotropism is the property of some chemical elements to exist in two or more different forms, known as allotropes of these elements. Allotropes are different structural modifications of an element; the element's atoms are bonded together in a different manner.

"For example, carbon has three common allotropes: diamond, where the carbon atoms are bonded together in a tetrahedral lattice arrangement, graphite, where the carbon atoms are bonded together in sheets of a hexagonal lattice, and fullerenes, where the carbon atoms are bonded together in spherical, tubular, or ellipsoidal formations."

Answer 4

Although graphite and diamond are both composed of carbon atoms, their physical properties are very different. The differences are the result of the atomic structures of the minerals. In graphite the carbon atoms are arranged in layers. As a result, graphite is soft. The great hardness of diamond is the result of the bonds that hold carbon atoms in a network structure.

Answer 5

Both are allotropes of carbon, and the molecular structure of diamond is different from the molecular structure of graphite.