2.6.4

Giant Covalent Structures - Silicon Oxide

Test yourself

Silicon Dioxide (Silica)

Silicon dioxide (silica) is a giant covalent structure. Silica's empirical formula is SiO2. Silica has the following properties:

Illustrative background for Covalent bondsIllustrative background for Covalent bonds ?? "content

Covalent bonds

  • Each silicon atom is covalently bonded to 4 oxygen atoms.
  • The oxygen atoms bridge between two silicon atoms to build up a giant-covalent structure.
Illustrative background for HardIllustrative background for Hard ?? "content

Hard

  • Like diamond, there are lots of strong covalent bonds in silica. This makes it very hard.
Illustrative background for Semi-conductorIllustrative background for Semi-conductor ?? "content

Semi-conductor

  • Silica is a semi-conductor. This makes it useful in electronics: most transistors are made of silica.
Illustrative background for High melting pointIllustrative background for High melting point ?? "content

High melting point

  • A lot of energy is needed to break strong covalent bonds.
  • Silica has lots of strong covalent bonds. This means that it has a high melting point.

Jump to other topics

1States of Matter

2Atoms, Elements & Compounds

3Stoichometry

4Electrochemistry

5Chemical Energetics

6Chemical Reactions

7Acids, Bases & Salts

8The Periodic Table

9Metals

10Chemistry of the Environment

11Organic Chemistry

11.1Formulae, Functional Groups & Terminology

11.2Naming Organic Compounds

11.3Fuels

11.4Alkanes

11.5Alkenes

11.6Alcohols

11.7Carboxylic Acids

11.8Polymers

12Experimental Techniques & Chemical Analysis

Unlock your full potential with Seneca Premium

  • Unlimited access to 10,000+ open-ended exam questions

  • Mini-mock exams based on your study history

  • Unlock 800+ premium courses & e-books

Get started with Seneca Premium