Unit 1 Lesson 2
What are the Properties of Matter?
 Matter can have many different properties, or
characteristics.
 Materials can be hard or soft, rough or smooth, hot or
cold, liquid, solid, or gas.
 Chemistry is the study of the properties of matter and
how matter changes.
What is a Substance?
 The properties of matter depend on its makeup.
 Some types of matter are substances and some are not.
 A substance is a single kind of matter that is pure – it
always has a specific composition and a specific set of
properties.
 Example is salt – no matter where it comes from –
seawater or a salt mine – it always has the same
composition and properties.
What are the two properties of
matter?
 Every form of matter has 2 kinds of properties –
physical and chemical.
 For example:
 A physical property of oxygen (O2) is that it is a gas at
room temperature.
 A chemical property of oxygen (O2) is that it reacts with
iron to form rust.
What are physical properties of
matter?
 The physical properties of matter help to identify and
classify matter in its different forms.
 A physical property is a characteristic of a pure
substance that can be observed without changing it
into another substance.
 All of our 5 senses are used to identify physical
properties.
Unit 1 Lesson 2 Properties of Matter
What are physical properties of matter?
• Mass and volume are physical properties.
• Changing the mass or volume of a substance does
not change the substance’s identity.
• The state of matter is a physical property. The
state of matter is the physical form of the matter.
• Most matter exists as a solid, liquid, gas, or
plasma.
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Unit 1 Lesson 2 Properties of Matter
What are physical properties of matter?
• Electrical conductivity is a
measure of how well electric
currents move through a
substance.
• Density is the measure of
the amount of matter in a
given volume.
• Thermal conductivity is the
rate at which a substance
transfers heat.
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What are Physical Properties of
Matter?
 Solubility is the ability of a substance to dissolve in
another substance.
 Whether or not a substance dissolves in water is also a
physical property. For example, sugar will dissolve in
water, but iron will not.
What are Physical Properties of matter?
 Malleability is the ability of a
substance to be rolled or
pounded into various shapes.
 Magnetic attraction is also a
physical property that can be
observed.
 Some metals, such as iron, are
magnetized – they can be
attracted to a magnet.
Unit 1 Lesson 2 Properties of Matter
What are physical properties of matter?
• The shine, or luster, of a metal
can be easily observed.
• The melting point of a
substance is the temperature at
which it changes from a solid to a
liquid.
• The boiling point of a substance
is the point at which the
substance boils (liquid to gas).
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What are Chemical Properties of
Matter?
 Unlike physical properties of matter, some properties
can’t be observed just by looking at or touching a
substance.
• A chemical property describes the ability of a
substance to change into a new substance with
different properties.
• The ability to rust or tarnish is a chemical property.
When a metal rusts or tarnishes, it changes to a
different substance.
What are Chemical Properties of
Matter?
 One chemical property of iron is that it will combine
slowly with oxygen in the air to from a different
substance – rust.
 Silver will react with sulfur in the air to form tarnish.
 In contrast a chemical property of gold is that it does
not react easily with oxygen or sulfur.
Unit 1 Lesson 2 Properties of Matter
What are chemical properties of
matter?
• Chemical properties can be identified
by the changes they produce.
• Flammability is the ability of a
substance to burn. Wood has the
ability to burn.
• Reactivity is the ability of a
substance to interact with another
substance and form one or more new
substances. Vinegar and baking soda
react to make carbon dioxide and
water.
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Unit 1 Lesson 2 Properties of Matter
Property Boundaries
What is the difference between
physical and chemical properties?
• Physical properties can be observed without
changing the identity of a substance.
• Chemical properties can be observed only by
changing the identity of a substance.
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Unit 1 Lesson 2 Properties of Matter
At the Scene
• The collection and study of physical evidence in a
criminal investigation is known as forensic
science.
• Ashes from an arson scene can be heated to
determine chemicals used to start a fire.
• Flecks of paint and the analysis of fibers can
provide clues to criminal cases.
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Unit 1 Lesson 2 Properties of Matter
Identify Yourself
How can physical and chemical
properties identify a substance?
• Properties unique to a substance are its
characteristic properties.
• Characteristic properties stay the same regardless
of the amount of the sample. They can help
identify a substance.
• Characteristic properties can be physical
properties such as density, or chemical properties,
such as flammability.
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