Chemical/Physical Property Notes

Chemical Properties• Chemical properties of matter are observed during a

reaction in which the substance is changed into a new substance.• Chemical properties include: General reactivity,

flammability and combustibility.

Physical Properties• Physical properties of matter are observed without

changing the substance.Common physical properties

Color LusterHardness DensityMalleability Phase changesConductivity Points of phase changes

• Both physical and chemical properties can be used to identify unknown substances. This is possible because a substance always has the same properties. Example: Iron will always have the same hardness, the same density and boiling point. If we know that iron has a density of 5.3 g/mL and we have an unknown piece of metal A that has a density 4.7g/mL and a second piece of unknown metal B with a density of 5.3g/mL, which unknown would be iron?

• Physical and chemical properties do not depend on the size of the substance. They will be the same for a given substance no matter its size.