Characteristic Properties of Matter

                                                                                         

Characteristic Properties of Matter—The Key Ideas

Matter is anything that has mass and takes up space.

                                                                                         

Characteristic Properties of Matter—The Key Ideas

Matter has characteristic properties that can be divided into physical properties and chemical properties.

                                                                                         

Characteristic Properties of Matter—The Key Ideas

The physical properties of matter include color, odor, density, solubility, melting point, boiling point, and electrical conductivity. These are properties that can be observed without chemically changing the substance.

                                                                                         

Characteristic Properties of Matter—The Key Ideas

The characteristic chemical properties of matter include acidity, basicity, combustibility, and reactivity. In order to learn about the chemical properties of a substance, an attempt must be made to chemically change it.

                                                                                         

Characteristic Properties of Matter—The Key Ideas

Characteristic properties of matter do not depend on the amount of matter that makes up an object, or on the shape of the object.

                                                                                         

Characteristic Properties of Matter—The Key Ideas

Some factors that can change the characteristic properties of matter are heat, temperature, pressure, electromagnetic energy, and nuclear processes.

                                                                                         

Characteristic Properties of Matter—

• Size, volume, and mass are characteristic properties of matter. – Reality: The amount of matter in an object does not

affect the characteristic properties of the object.• Shape is a characteristic property of matter.

– Reality: An object will retain all of its characteristic properties regardless of its shape. For example, the water in a faucet and the water in a bucket are both clear and colorless, have a boiling point at 100ºC, can dissolve table salt, etc. Note, however, that the shape of crystals will follow the same pattern regardless of size, and this pattern is a chemical property.

                                                                                         

Characteristic Properties of Matter—Common Misconceptions

• Boiling and freezing are chemical changes. – Reality: Boiling and freezing are physical changes that

make the molecules of a substance move faster or slower and be closer or farther apart. However, the molecules are not changed chemically.

• Air and other gases are not a type of matter.– Reality: Gases are a type of matter because they have

mass and take up weight. To have students experience how air takes up space, inflate a balloon or plastic bag and have students try to squeeze it.

                                                                                         

Characteristic Properties of Matter—Resources�� Use the PowerPoint version of this presentation for

hyperlinks to these resources, or you can get to them through the browser or search feature.

• Video Segment: Characteristics of Matter• Video Segment: States and Properties of Matter• Reading Passage: Chemistry Capers• Reading Passage: What Is It?• Reading Passage: Understanding Physical Properties

of Matter• Reading Passage: Chemical Properties of Matter