Properties and Characteristics
of Matter
Physical Properties
of Matter
• These are observed characteristics
– Colour, Lustre, Clarity (by sight)
• Lustre is how shiny or dull something appears
• Clarity measures how transparent or opaque
– Texture (by touch)
– Odour (by smell)
– Taste
• (please don’t use this one)
States of Matter
Solid
• A solid has a fixed shape (DEFINITE)
– It does not change shape simply by placing it in a
container
• A solid has a fixed volume (DEFINITE)
– Its’ volume is unchanging
– (volume = space it occupies)
States of Matter
Liquid
• A liquid will take the shape of the container
holding it, so its’ shape can change (INDEFINITE)
• A liquid has a fixed volume (DEFINITE)
– If you pour a test tube of water into a beaker,
then back into the test tube, it will still be the
same volume as before
States of Matter
Gas
• A gas will take the shape of
the container (INDEFINITE)
• A gas will expand to fill
whatever space is provided
(INDEFINITE)
Other physical properties of matter include:
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Hardness
Malleability
Ductility
Melting/Boiling points
Crystal form (structure)
Solubility
Viscosity
Density
Hardness
The resistance of material to deformation.
A rating of how difficult it is to scratch, dent, or otherwise
deform a solid. This is often tested by scratching materials
together to see which one is marked and which is not.
The scale shown to
the left is merely an
order and not a rating.
That is to say, diamond
is not twice as hard as
apatite. Solids are
merely place between
materials more, or less
hard, than themselves.
Malleability
The property of a material to be deformed by
compression without cracking or rupturing.
Malleable materials can be pounded into thin sheets, without
breaking or separating. Gold, lead and aluminum are
malleable metals. The opposite of malleable, is brittle.
Ductility
The property of a material which permits it to be reduced in
cross sectional area without fracture.
This means it can be stretched into long, thin wires of a relatively
uniform thickness, without breaking.
Ductility and Malleability are related to each other, and ductile materials tend to
be more malleable, and malleable materials tend to be more ductile.
Boiling Point
The temperature at which a substance
will change from liquid to gas.
The reverse of vapourization (boiling) is called condensation.
These temperatures
are listed in the
textbook, but it should
be noted that it is
based on standard
atmospheric pressure.
Increase or decrease
the pressure of the
atmosphere, and you
will change the boiling
point of a substance.
Melting Point
The temperature at which a substance will
change from solid to liquid.
The reverse of melting is freezing.
These temperatures
are listed in the
textbook, but it should
be noted that it is
based on standard
atmospheric pressure.
Increase or decrease
the pressure of the
atmosphere, and you
will change the boiling
point of a substance.
Things to remember about changes in
state (melting, boiling, etc.)
• Never think about something becoming cold or
gaining cold – objects either gain or lose heat.
– A cold item against your skin does not make you cold: you
transfer heat to that item, and you lose heat in the process
• Some things like carbon dioxide (dry ice) is never a
liquid on the earth (under normal pressure). In this
case, the process to change from solid to gas is called
SUBLIMATION.
– Carbon Dioxide can be found in a liquid state, on other
planets or moons where the pressure is dramatically
different, as well as in a laboratory under the right conditions
Crystal Form
The shape and structure of the three-dimensional
lattice formed by a crystalline material.
Some solids like ice, quartz, salt, pyrite and diamond, form
crystals when in a solid state. Depending on the shape,
nature and composition of the material, it can form wildly
different shapes and structures at the atomic level.
Diamond
Quartz
Salt
Ice
Graphite
Solubility
A measure of how much of a given
substance will dissolve in a liquid.
Salt in water vs. rocks in water
The substance that is being dissolved is called the solute.
The substance doing the dissolving is called the solvent.
Water is the most common of solvents.
Viscosity
The thickness of a liquid or its’ resistance to flow.
Molasses and honey = very viscous liquids.
Olive oil and other cooking oils = moderately viscous liquid.
Water and alcohol = low viscosity.
Think of viscosity as the “resistance to pouring”.
Temperature will have an
effect on viscosity.
Lower temperatures will
often cause an increase in
viscosity.
Density
The measure of mass per unit volume.
Less dense materials will float in liquids of a greater density.
Eg. Sweeten colas are more dense than unsweetened colas. The diet
coke floats, while regular coke sinks.
So what are “non-physical” properties?
Those would be CHEMICAL properties.
• The two we will deal with are:
– Combustibility (if a substance is flammable or combustible)
– Reaction with Acid (does it dissolve, do bubbles form, does
nothing happen)
• In either of these cases, new substances will be formed
out of the original substances.
Combustion
An oxidation reaction accompanied by heat and light.
It may or may not require the presence of an open flame to
begin the reaction. However, once consumed by the reaction,
the process is not reversible. (Have you ever tried turning a
lump of charcoal back into a wooden board?)
Give-aways to look for:
- Light
- Heat
- Water produced
- Carbon Dioxide produced
Reaction to Acid
A substance can be immersed in acid or have the acid poured over its’
surface. Observe if there are any changes or reactions.
Any changes will be a chemical change. Like combustion, once the acid has dissolved the zinc it is
not easy to put the zinc back!
A common reaction is the formation of bubbles.
Often these bubbles are a flammable gas.
Another is the material will often be dissolved/disintegrate in the acid.
Some metals will react with acid,
while others, like gold, do not.
Questions
• Which properties of matter can be classed
as QUALITATIVE and which are
QUANTITATIVE?
• Questions: p 159 # 1-2