Which of the following is one way a glassy texture forms in a material?

• A. Slow cooling allows atoms to arrange into large crystals.
• B. High pressure causes atoms to pack tightly into a crystalline structure.
• C. Rapid cooling prevents the formation of a regular crystal lattice.
• D. Heating the material to a low temperature for a long time.

Answer: (C)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand that a glassy texture in materials refers to an amorphous, non-crystalline solid structure where atoms are disordered rather than arranged in a regular lattice.
2. Recognize that crystal formation requires atoms to move and arrange themselves into an ordered pattern, which typically happens when cooling is slow enough to allow atomic mobility.
3. Identify that rapid cooling (also called quenching) prevents atoms from moving into an ordered crystalline structure because they are 'frozen' in place before they can organize.
4. Conclude that rapid cooling leads to a glassy texture by trapping atoms in a disordered state, thus preventing the formation of large crystals or a regular lattice.
5. Note that slow cooling or high pressure generally promotes crystalline structures, not glassy textures, and heating to low temperatures for a long time does not typically produce a glassy texture.