CHEMISTRY FOR 12th Std.

Amorphous and Crystalline Solids

• Based on the nature of the order of arrangement of the constituent particles, solids are classified as amorphous and crystalline.
• Differences between amorphous and crystalline solids are listed in the given table.

Amorphous solids		Crystalline solids
1	Have irregular shape	1	Have definite characteristic geometrical shape
2	Have only short-range order in the arrangement of constituent particles	2	Have long-range order in the arrangement of constituent particles
3	Gradually soften over a range of temperature	3	Have sharp and characteristic melting point
4	When cut with a sharp-edged tool, they cut into two pieces with irregular shapes	4	When cut with a sharp-edged tool, they split into two pieces with plain and smooth newly generated surfaces.
5	Do not have definite heat of fusion	5	Have definite and characteristic heat of fusion
6	Isotropic in nature	6	Anisotropic in nature