5. Snowflakes.
Snowflakes are really condensed water vapour which freezes directly into ice crystals. The simplest snowflake is a hexagonal prism, with a top and a bottom (basal facets) and six sides (prism facets). Snowflakes also form as hexagonal lattice crystals. As the snow crystal moves through the air, it tends to collide with objects, which causes a bump to form, usually at the corners first. These bumps then pick up new water molecules causing the bump to “grow” into branches. The branches pick up bumps and grow into side branches and so on. The final shape and how the branches form depends on temperature and humidity.
6. Are snowflakes all unique?
That may very well be true for larger, more complex snowflakes, but is doubtful when it comes to the microscopic simple crystals which form in the coldest weather. If you’d like to prove this, you could go to Antarctica with your microscope and look at hexagonal prisms.