Summary
Uses diamonds as the ultimate case study in materials science — showing that diamonds and graphite are both pure carbon but have completely different properties because of how their atoms are arranged. A vivid lesson in structure-property relationships.
Viewer safety
All ages
Common Sense Media — not yet ratedIMDb Parents Guide — not yet rated
Our rating is a quick teacher-to-teacher guide — preview before showing.
Teaching resources
Discussion questions
Discussion
- What element makes up both diamonds and graphite?
- Why is diamond one of the hardest materials on Earth while graphite is soft enough to write with?
- How can two materials made of the same atoms be so different?
- Can scientists make synthetic diamonds? How? Why would you want to?
Quick work-a-long
Vocabulary: carbon, atom arrangement, structure, property, crystal, hardness, synthetic.
Try it: Compare a pencil (graphite) and a glass cutter or a rough diamond chip's description. Write one sentence explaining what is the same about them (both carbon) and one explaining what is different (atomic structure → property).