4 Physical and Chemical Properties

The characteristics that distinguish one substance from another are called properties. A physical property is a characteristic of matter that is not associated with a change in its chemical composition. Familiar examples of physical properties include density, color, hardness, melting and boiling points, and electrical conductivity. Some physical properties, such as density and color, may be observed without changing the physical state of the matter. Other physical properties, such as the melting temperature of iron or the freezing temperature of water, can only be observed as matter undergoes a physical change. A physical change is a change in the state or properties of matter without any accompanying change in the chemical identities of the substances contained in the matter. Physical changes are observed when wax melts, when sugar dissolves in coffee, and when steam condenses into liquid water ((Figure)). Other examples of physical changes include magnetizing and demagnetizing metals (as is done with common antitheft security tags) and grinding solids into powders (which can sometimes yield noticeable changes in color). In each of these examples, there is a change in the physical state, form, or properties of the substance, but no change in its chemical composition.

The change of one type of matter into another type (or the inability to change) is a chemical property. Examples of chemical properties include flammability, toxicity, acidity, and many other types of reactivity. Iron, for example, combines with oxygen in the presence of water to form rust; chromium does not oxidize ((Figure)). Nitroglycerin is very dangerous because it explodes easily; neon poses almost no hazard because it is very unreactive.

A chemical change always produces one or more types of matter that differ from the matter present before the change. The formation of rust is a chemical change because rust is a different kind of matter than the iron, oxygen, and water present before the rust formed. The explosion of nitroglycerin is a chemical change because the gases produced are very different kinds of matter from the original substance. Other examples of chemical changes include reactions that are performed in a lab (such as copper reacting with nitric acid), all forms of combustion (burning), and food being cooked, digested, or rotting ((Figure)).

Properties of matter fall into one of two categories. If the property depends on the amount of matter present, it is an extensive property. The mass and volume of a substance are examples of extensive properties; for instance, a gallon of milk has a larger mass than a cup of milk. The value of an extensive property is directly proportional to the amount of matter in question. If the property of a sample of matter does not depend on the amount of matter present, it is an intensive property. Temperature is an example of an intensive property. If the gallon and cup of milk are each at 20 °C (room temperature), when they are combined, the temperature remains at 20 °C. As another example, consider the distinct but related properties of heat and temperature. A drop of hot cooking oil spattered on your arm causes brief, minor discomfort, whereas a pot of hot oil yields severe burns. Both the drop and the pot of oil are at the same temperature (an intensive property), but the pot clearly contains much more heat (extensive property).

While many elements differ dramatically in their chemical and physical properties, some elements have similar properties. For example, many elements conduct heat and electricity well, whereas others are poor conductors. These properties can be used to sort the elements into three classes: metals (elements that conduct well), nonmetals (elements that conduct poorly), and metalloids (elements that have intermediate conductivities).

The periodic table is a table of elements that places elements with similar properties close together ((Figure)). You will learn more about the periodic table as you continue your study of chemistry.

Chemistry End of Chapter Exercises

1. Classify the six underlined properties in the following paragraph as chemical or physical:

Fluorine is a pale yellow gas that reacts with most substances. The free element melts at −220 °C and boils at −188 °C. Finely divided metals burn in fluorine with a bright flame. Nineteen grams of fluorine will react with 1.0 gram of hydrogen.

 

2. Classify each of the following changes as physical or chemical:

(a) condensation of steam

(b) burning of gasoline

(c) souring of milk

(d) dissolving of sugar in water

(e) melting of gold

(a) physical; (b) chemical; (c) chemical; (d) physical; (e) physical

 

3. Classify each of the following changes as physical or chemical:

(a) coal burning

(b) ice melting

(c) mixing chocolate syrup with milk

(d) explosion of a firecracker

(e) magnetizing of a screwdriver

 

4. The volume of a sample of oxygen gas changed from 10 mL to 11 mL as the temperature changed. Is this a chemical or physical change?

physical

 

5. A 2.0-liter volume of hydrogen gas combined with 1.0 liter of oxygen gas to produce 2.0 liters of water vapor. Does oxygen undergo a chemical or physical change?

 

6. Explain the difference between extensive properties and intensive properties.

The value of an extensive property depends upon the amount of matter being considered, whereas the value of an intensive property is the same regardless of the amount of matter being considered.

 

7.  Identify the following properties as either extensive or intensive.

(a) volume

(b) temperature

(c) humidity

(d) heat

(e) boiling point

 

8. The density (d) of a substance is an intensive property that is defined as the ratio of its mass (m) to its volume (V).

 

9. Considering that mass and volume are both extensive properties, explain why their ratio, density, is intensive.

Being extensive properties, both mass and volume are directly proportional to the amount of substance under study. Dividing one extensive property by another will in effect “cancel” this dependence on amount, yielding a ratio that is independent of amount (an intensive property).