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  4. Graphite is soft while diamond is hard because:

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Q. Graphite is soft while diamond is hard because:

Uttarkhand PMTUttarkhand PMT 2006

Solution:

In diamond each carbon atom is $ sp^{3} $ hybridised and is joined to each other by strong covalent bond to form a tetrahedral structure. While in graphite, carbon atoms form planar, hexagonal rings to give it a sheet like structure. Each sheet is joined to each other by weak van der Waal force. Hence, diamond is harder than graphite.