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                                  PROPERTIES OF MATTER

 

A.        Observations: Events which are noticed with your senses or that can be measured and analyzed.
                                                Scientists use instruments to help magnify the senses:  rulers, microscopes, telescopes,                                                              balances, calipers, etc.
                                                Observations can be either qualitative (using your five senses only) -- descriptive
                                                or quantitative (using instruments and measurements).

 

B.        Properties:      Features that a certain substance/object/thing has that

                                                gives information on what it is made of and how it will behave

 

C.        States of Matter

 

                1.  solid state -- rubber, iron, ice, chalk

                2.  liquid state -- alcohol, gasoline, oil, water

                3.  gas state -- air, natural gas, carbon dioxide, steam

 

D.        Physical Properties of Each State:

 

PROPERTY	SOLID	LIQUID	GAS
shape	fixed	same as container (indefinite)	same as container (indefinite)
volume	definite	definite	fills entire container (indefinite)
ability to flow	no	yes	yes
can be compressed	very slightly	very slightly	yes
volume change with heating	very small	small	large

 

E.         Describing Matter

 

                1.  Intensive Properties:                          properties that do not depend on the amount of matter

                                                                                    examples --  colour, odour, density, melting point
 

                2.  Extensive Properties:                          properties that do depend on the amount of matter

                                                                                    examples  --  mass and volume
 

                3. Characteristic Physical properties:    intrinsic and specific property that never change about a substance
                                                                                     examples -- density, conductivity, resistance  

 

F.         How to Describe Matter

 

                1.  Physical State: solid, liquid, gas.

                2.  Colour:              green, blue, yellow, black, reddish-brown, etc.

                3.  Odour:               odourless, flowery, spicy, nauseating, etc.

                4.  Clarity:              clear, cloudy, opaque.

                5.  Luster:               shiny, dull.

                6.  Form:                 regular (crystalline), irregular (amorphous)

                7.  Texture:             how  does it feel?  fine, coarse, smooth, waxy, etc.

                8.  Hardness:         can it be scratched easily?  scale from 1-10 (e.g. talcum powder-1, diamond-10)

                9.  Brittleness:       can it break apart or shatter easily?  brittle or flexible

                10.  Malleability:   can it be bent and folded into different shapes?  malleable or non-malleable

                11.  Ductility:         can it be stretched out into a long wire?  ductile or non-ductile

                12.  Viscosity:  can the substance flow?  viscous or non-viscous

 

G.        Chemical Properties:    properties of a substance that we observe when it reacts or does not react with                                                                                      other substances.  These properties usually involve the formation of a new substance
                                                                  and the release of energy.

 

                                                                                examples -- iron rusts in moist air, gold does not

                                                                                                -- hydrogen burns in oxygen, but nitrogen does not

                                                                                                --  zinc reacts with acid, but glass does not

                                                                                                --  baking soda and vinegar mix to form carbon dioxide gas