Characteristic Properties
of Matter
How Are You Identified?
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Eye Color
Hair Color*
Skin Color
Fingerprints
DNA
These are all characteristics you have that will stay
with you for life and can be used to identify you.
*may change due to age or vanity
First, A Quick Review
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Matter is anything that has mass and takes up
space.
Matter is the “stuff” (atoms and molecules) that
makes up the universe
Matter is stuff
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Examples of Stuff (aka
matter)
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Plants, animals, rocks, water, soda, air, oxygen are all
examples of matter
Matter can be living or non living
Matter can be solid, liquid or gas
They are all made of atoms and molecules
They all have mass and take up space
They are all “stuff”. Yet all of the examples of stuff
listed above are different
They all have different characteristics or properties that
can be used to identify them
Characteristics of matter can be either physical
properties or chemical properties
Characteristic Properties of
Matter
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Characteristic properties help scientists
identify a particular substance
Characteristic properties are always the same
for each kind of matter
Characteristic properties do not change even
though the shape or amount of matter may
change
Characteristic properties are like the eye color,
hair color, skin color, fingerprints and DNA of
matter
property= an attribute, quality, or
characteristic of something.
physical property=A quality of a substance
that can be observed or measured.
chemical property= A quality of a substance
that has to do with the way it reacts with other
substances
What Are Some Physical
Characteristic Properties?
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Physical properties can be
 seen or measured without changing the identity of the
substance
 identified or described with your senses
Melting point, boiling point, freezing point
State of matter at room temperature (solid, liquid or gas)
Density
Magnetic properties
Solubility (will it dissolve in another substance?)
Conductivity (will it conduct heat, electricity)
Ductility, malleability (can it be drawn into a wire or
pounded into a thin sheet)
What Are Some Physical
Characteristic Properties?
What Are Some Chemical
Characteristic Properties?
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Chemical properties
 may not be observed with your senses.
 determines how a substance interacts with
another substance.
 determine if the substance can change into a
new substance with different properties.
Flammability
Reactivity (how it behaves in the presence of
another substance)
Oxidation (another word for rust and tarnish)
What Are Some Chemical
Characteristic Properties?
Can You Identify?
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Physical Properties:
 Liquid at room temperature
0
 Boiling point is 100 C
 Colorless
3
 Density is 1 g/cm
That was easy!
Let’s Try Another!
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Physical Properties
3
 Density is 8.96 g/cm
 Insoluble in H2O
 Ductile, malleable
Chemical Properties
 Oxidizes
 Reacts with acids
Hint?
What do you think the flame is made of?
Does gold (Au) oxidize? How do you know?
Now You’re On Your Own
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