crystal
Crystals have ordered internal structures that repeat in three dimensions. This topic is part of Chemistry within Science & Nature. This page currently draws on 34 supporting questions, with answers and bonus facts available below.
crystal trivia questions
A crystal is a solid whose atoms or molecules are arranged in what kind of pattern?
Answer: Regular repeating pattern
Bonus fact: Crystals have ordered internal structures that repeat in three dimensions.
What common mineral crystal has the chemical formula SiO2?
Answer: Quartz
Bonus fact: Quartz is crystalline silicon dioxide.
How many crystal systems are recognized in classical crystallography?
Answer: 7
Bonus fact: The seven crystal systems include cubic, tetragonal, orthorhombic, hexagonal, trigonal, monoclinic, and triclinic.
What crystal structure gives diamond its exceptional hardness?
Answer: Tetrahedral network of covalent bonds
Bonus fact: Each carbon atom in diamond is strongly bonded to four neighboring carbon atoms.
What crystal structure does ordinary ice found on Earth's surface usually have?
Answer: Hexagonal
Bonus fact: Ordinary ice Ih has a hexagonal crystal structure.
A crystal lattice is an orderly repeating arrangement of what?
Answer: Atoms, ions, or molecules
Bonus fact: Crystalline solids have regular internal structures.
What branch of science studies crystal structures using diffraction?
Answer: Crystallography
Bonus fact: X-ray crystallography reveals atomic arrangements.
What type of crystal oscillator keeps time in most inexpensive modern watches?
Answer: Quartz
Bonus fact: A quartz crystal vibrates at a precise frequency.
Which 1989 film starring Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan became a romantic-comedy classic?
Answer: When Harry Met Sally...
Bonus fact: The film was directed by Rob Reiner.
Who made President James Madison's crystal flute now in the Library of Congress collections?
Answer: Claude Laurent
Bonus fact: The Dayton C. Miller Collection includes Madison's crystal flute along with many other historically important wind instruments.
Who wrote the short story "The Crystal Egg"?
Answer: H. G. Wells
Bonus fact: Wells published the story in the 1890s, during the same period in which he wrote several of his best-known scientific romances.
What mysterious sight does the crystal in H. G. Wells's "The Crystal Egg" reveal?
Answer: A view of Mars
Bonus fact: The object appears to function as a two-way viewing device between Earth and Mars.