Properties of Matter – Identify the Substance
You have a liquid. It is a pure substance. It has no taste. It freezes at 0 oC and it boils at 100oC and
has a density of 1 g/mL. It is not viscous. What is the liquid?
You have a solid, hard, crystalline substance. It is white. If you look under the microscope you see
that the crystals form cubes. It is brittle. It dissolves in water. It melts at 800 oC. It does not have an
odor. It has a strong taste. It is not flammable. What is the solid?
You have a solid crystalline substance. It is white and tastes sweet. It melts and decomposes at
186oC to form caramel, and when it burns it produces carbon, carbon dioxide, and water. What is
the solid?
You have a clear, colourless gas. Its melting point is -260oC. It is not reactive at room temperature.
When exposed to a burning splint it makes a “popping” sound. When it burns in oxygen, water is
produced. What is the gas?
You have a silver, shiny, solid metal. It can be hammered into sheets and pulled into wires. Its
boiling point is 1090oC. It conducts heat well and it conducts electricity. It reacts quickly with acid to
produce hydrogen gas. It burns with a very bright white flame. What is the solid?
In its pure form, it is an odorless, colourless (even though you might think it is green because when
they sell it a colour is added to it), sweet-tasting liquid. It is toxic to living organisms, and ingestion
can result in death (so keep your cats and dogs away from spills of this!). It is more viscous than
water. Its density is 1.12g/mL. It’s freezing point is -12oC, but when it is mixed 50/50 with water the
mixture’s freezing point is -34oC, and it is used in cars because of this property. What is the liquid?
This solid is metallic, with a yellow colour. It is the most malleable and ductile metal; 1g of it can be
hammered out to 1 square meter. It is a soft metal and is usually alloyed to give it more strength.
Its melting point is 10562oC. Its density is 19.3 g/cm3. It is a good conductor of heat and electricity.
It does not react with oxygen, water or most corrosive agents. These properties make it a useful
metal of jewelry. What is the metal?
Properties of Matter – Questions
Using the properties in the descriptions above, what were you able to do? (or what were you asked
to do in this task?)
Use your answer to the front of the page to come up with the definition of a property.
PROPERTY –
What is a CHEMICAL PROPERTY?
Look at the descriptions given on the first page. Identify as many properties as possible that you
used to identify the substances. Classify them as physical properties and chemical properties.
Physical Properties
Chemical Properties
Properties can be QUALITATIVE or QUANTITATIVE. Distinguish between these two terms.
On your list above indicate which properties are qualitative (QL) and which are quantitative (QT)