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OCW Scholar - Introduction to Solid State Chemistry 16 Online
OpenStudy (rishabh.mission):

sodium metal is quite soft whereas sodium chloride crystals are quite hard .explain why?

OpenStudy (anonymous):

sodium metal has atoms which can slide over each other easily, whereas sodium chloride has sodium and chloride ions which are held together by electrostatic forces ...and they have a lattice structure. (Sodium metal: metallic bonding, NaCl: ionic bonding)

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