1.5: chemical and physical properties and changes

properties and changes

  • change: the act of making something different or undergoing a process that makes something different
  • physical change: a change during which the identity of the underlying substance does not change
    • eg. melting, dissolving, boiling
  • chemical change: a change during which something new is formed
  • evidence of chemical change
    • evolution of a gas
    • change in color
    • formation of a precipitate
    • release or absorption of energy
    • eg. release of heat, light, sound, change of temperature
  • property: a quality, attribute, or characteristic of something
  • physical property: a property of matter that can be observed without changing the substance
    • eg. color, density, conductivity, physical state, solubility
  • chemical property: a property of matter desccrived as a substance’s ability to participate in chemical reactions; to observe a chemical property, the substance must be changed
    • eg. reactivity with oxygen, flammability, reactivity with acids
  • intensive property: a property independent of the amount of material in the sample
    • eg. density, boiling point, color, fammability, conductivity
  • extensive property: a property dependent on the amount of material in the sample
    • eg. mass, volume, energy

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separating mixtures

  • mixtures can be separated based on the physical properties of the components in the mixtures
  • separation methods include:
    • filtration (separation by size)
    • distillation (separation by boiling point)
    • can separate a homogeneous mixture into its components
    • chromatography (separation by solubility)

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