Question

What is allotropy?

Answer 1

The word allotropy is a combination of two Greek words ‘allos’ meaning ‘other’ and ‘tropos’ meaning ‘form’. The name itself gives the idea about allotropy.

Complete step by step answer:
As we know, the name allotropy comes from two Greek words ‘allos’ meaning ‘other’ and
‘tropos’ meaning ‘forms’. In a physical state, chemical elements can exist in different arrangements, which is called the allotropes. The bonding patterns are different in allotropes and also they are the structural modifications of an element.

Additional Information:
a) Allotropes of carbon include diamond (the carbon atoms are bonded together in a tetrahedral lattice arrangement).Diamond is an allotrope of carbon in which the atoms are bonded through a tetrahedral lattice arrangement.
b) The general term used for the different crystalline materials is polymorphism. Also, the term allotropes is not used for referring compounds but only for elements.
c) In the same phase, an element that can exist in different forms are called allotropes. The same element in different phases is not considered as an allotrope.
d) Ozone and dioxygen are different allotropes of oxygen which can exist in three different phases like solid, liquid and gas. Here, the phases can be different and at the same time, the molecular formula is different for the allotropes.

Note: You should not be confused with the phases and allotropes. Phases and allotropes are entirely different things. For example, ice, water and steam are not allotropic forms of water molecules but it is three phases in which water molecules exist.