Name ____________________________   Block ________   Date _____________

 

 

 

 

 

 

What’sa Matter

Chemistry is the study of matter.  What is matter?

 

 

 

 

You will notice a sample of metal (a type of matter) on your desk.  It is sitting in oil for safety reasons, so don’t take it out without my direct permission.  Please list everything you can find out that will help you identify the metal.  (Include both ideas that you know now and those that you could find out if given permission.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You have just made a list of properties of a material.  Properties are divided into two groups: physical and chemical.  Physical properties are those characteristics that help you identify a substance without reacting it with anything else.  Chemical properties describe the substance’s ability to react – or change into a new substance.  Please label each of the properties on your list as (C) chemical or (P) physical.  I will lead you through testing some of these properties in a moment.  In the space below, draw a data table with a column for the experiment you will perform and a column for the observations during each experiment.

 

Homework
Notes – Physical v. Chemical Properties

 

Physical properties

o       any description that can be determined without changing the chemical nature of a substance.

o       Change when conditions change (water is solid at –10⁰C, but a liquid at 10⁰C)

 

            Density

            Color

            Freezing temp

            Boiling temp.

            Opacity/Transparency

            Electrical conductivity

            Malleability (bendability)

            Hardness

            Solubility

Surface tension

 

           

Chemical properties

• anything that describes a material’s ability to react or change into a new substance.
• Usually described using the phrase “reacts with _________ to form ___________”

 

Reacts with oxygen

flammability

Reacts with water

Energy is released when…

Energy is absorbed when…

 

 

Other properties

• Things like mass and temperature may describe a specific example in specific conditions, but cannot identify the substance.

 

Challenge your understanding

• Many substances give off a unique flame color when burned.  Is flame color a physical or chemical property?