Chemical vs. Physical
Properties
Review Physical vs. Chemical Changes
• Chemical Property:
– Describes reactions
• What a chemical will react with
• When a chemical will react
• How a chemical reacts
• Physical Property:
– Describes physical changes
• Temperatures phase changes occur
• What it will dissolve in
• If it will bend or crumble when hit (malleable or brittle)
– Describes static characteristics
• Color
• Smell
• density
Water’s Properties
• Physical Properties of Water:
– Boils at 100 degrees C
– Freezes at 0 degrees C
– Transparent and clear
– Odorless
– Density of 1 g/mL
• Chemical Properties of Water:
– Unreactive with water
– Reacts when electrocuted to form gasses
On your group’s white-board/paper, list the
Chemical Properties of iron in one column.
List the Physical Properties of iron in a
different column.
• Example Scenario:
– Iron is a relatively soft, shiny, gray, solid at room
temperature.
Example Scenario:
– Iron is a relatively soft, shiny, gray, solid at room
temperature. It conducts electricity, is magnetic,
and has a density of 7.9 g/ml at room
temperature. As a solid, it will not dissolve in any
liquid. However, It melts at 28000F, and will mix
with melted carbon to form a mixture called steal.
Similar alloys can be made my mixing melted iron
with melted nickel, chromium, or manganese.
Iron typically reacts slowly with oxygen or water to
form rust, a flaky solid. It also bonds to oxygen in
our blood, giving our blood that red color, and
speeds up reactions in our cells.
On your group’s white-board/paper, do
the same thing with sugar!
– Sugar has a density of 1.6 g/mL. It
would melt at 367 degrees
Fahrenheit, if it didn’t react first
with the oxygen, producing
carbon dioxide and water, and
releasing a lot of heat. Sugar also
reacts with potassium nitrate to
form home-made rocket fuel, and
sulfuric acid can separate the
carbon atoms from the hydrogen
and oxygen atoms in sugar,
causing a “dehydration reaction”.
Measurements
Characteristic
Mass
Length or Height
Volume
Time
Temperature
pH
Units
equipment
Characteristic
Units
equipment
Mass
Grams (g)
Balance or Scale
Length or Height
Volume
Time
Temperature
pH
Characteristic
Units
equipment
Mass
Grams (g)
Balance or Scale
Length or Height
Meters (m)
Ruler, Meter Stick
Volume
Time
Temperature
pH
Characteristic
Units
equipment
Mass
Grams
(g)
Balance or Scale
Length or Height
Meters
(m)
Ruler, Meter Stick
Volume
Liters
(L)
Graduated Cylinder
Centimeters cubed
(cm3 )
Time
Temperature
pH
Ruler & Calculate
Characteristic
Units
Mass
Grams
(g)
Balance or Scale
Length or Height
Meters
(m)
Ruler, Meter Stick
Volume
Liters
(L)
Graduated Cylinder
Time
Temperature
pH
equipment
Centimeters cubed
(cm3 )
Ruler & Calculate
Seconds (s)
Stop-watch
Characteristic
Units
equipment
Mass
Grams
(g)
Balance or Scale
Length or Height
Meters
(m)
Ruler, Meter Stick
Volume
Liters
(L)
Graduated Cylinder
Centimeters cubed
(cm3 )
Ruler & Calculate
Time
Seconds (s)
Stop-watch
Temperature
Degrees (0F or 0C) Thermometer
pH
Characteristic
Units
equipment
Mass
Grams
(g)
Balance or Scale
Length or Height
Meters
(m)
Ruler, Meter Stick
Volume
Liters
(L)
Graduated Cylinder
Centimeters cubed
(cm3 )
Ruler & Calculate
Time
Seconds (s)
Stop-watch
Temperature
Degrees (0F or 0C) Thermometer
pH
none
Litmus paper
Density is a physical property.
• Density =
formula
units
equipment
• How to determine density:
• Measure volume with graduated cylinder
• Or
• Measure lengths with ruler and calculate
• And Measure mass with a balance.
• Then Divide: Mass / Volume = Density