Physical and

Chemical Properties

Physical Property• A characteristic of a substance that does not

involve a chemical change, such as density, color or hardness

• Color, shape, odor, weight, volume, texture, state and density

• Apple: don’t have to change it to see that it is round and red

General Physical Properties• Size

• Shape

• Color

•Smell

•Weight or Mass

•Volume

Specific Physical Properties• Thermal Conductivity• Solubility• Ductility• Magnetism • State• Density• Malleability

Thermal Conductivity

• The rate at which a substance transfers heat.

Example: Plastic Foam is a poor conductor

Solubility

• The ability of a substance to dissolve in another substance

Example: Flavored drink mix dissolves in water

Ductility• The ability of a substance to be

pulled into a wire

Electrical Conductivity: describes how freely charges can move in a material. Copper is

often used to make wiring because it is ductile and it has a high electrical conductivity.

Magnetism• The property of some materials

to attract iron or objects containing iron.

Example: lodestone is a naturally magnetic rock

State• The physical form in which a substance exists, such as a solid,

liquid or gas.

Example: Ice is water in the solid state

Density• The mass per unit volume of a

substance.

Example: Lead is very dense, so it makes a good sinker for a fishing line

Malleability• The ability of a substance to be

rolled or pounded into thin sheets.

Example: Aluminum can be rolled into sheets to make foil

Chemical Property

Describes a substance’s ability to participate in chemical reactions

Example: When wood is burned, ash and smoke are created. The new substances have very different properties than the original wood

Flammability• The ability of a substance

to burn.

Example: Wood has the property of flammability. However, ash and

smoke can’t burn, so the have the chemical property of

nonflammability.

Reactivity• The ability of two or more

substances to combine and form one or more new substances

• Example: Car Example*Iron on this car has the chemical property of reactivity with oxygen. When iron is exposed to oxygen, it rusts.*The bumper of this car still looks new because it is coated with chromium, which has a chemical property of nonreactivity with oxygen.

Comparing Chemical and Physical Properties

• Physical properties are easy to observe. You can measure the density or the

hardness without changing anything.

• Chemical properties are harder to observe. You can only see that wood is flammable

when it is actually burning. BUT that piece of wood is still considered flammable even

when it’s not burning.