Physical Characteristics or
Properties
Use your common senses!!!
physical property - any characteristic of a material
that can be observed or measured without changing
the identity of the material.
Observing involves seeing, hearing, tasting,
touching, and smelling.
For safety reasons, in the laboratory you
usually use only two of your senses—sight
and hearing. Many chemicals can be
dangerous to touch, taste, and smell.
Examples of possible physical
properties:
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Color
Shape
Size – length, mass, volume
Density – the amount of mass an object has
per unit of volume; D=m/v.
•  State of matter – solid, liquid, gas or plasma
•  Melting point
•  Boiling point
What are some physical properties
of the following object?
•  The state of matter of
a substance depends on
its temperature and
pressure.
•  Solids, liquids and gases
are common and can
experience each day.
•  The plasma state occurs
at very high
temperatures and is
found in fluorescent
lightbulbs, the
atmosphere, and in
lightning strikes.
States of matter:
Solids:
•  The particles of a
solid vibrate in a
fixed position
•  They remain close
together and give
the solid a definite
shape and volume
Liquids
•  The particles of a liquid
are moving much faster
and have enough energy
to slide past one
another
•  This allows a liquid to
take the shape of its
container
•  The volume of a liquid
stays the same
regardless of the
container.
Gases
•  The particles of a gas are moving so
quickly that they have enough energy to
move freely away from other particles
•  The particles of a gas take up as much
space as possible and will spread out to
fill any container; no fixed volume or
shape.
Physical Change
•  Occurs when you change the appearance
of an object, but not what the object is
made of.
•  Examples:
Sharpening a pencil, breaking a glass,
melting an ice cube, etc
Conductivity
•  The ability of a material to conduct electric
current.
Malleability
•  The property of a metal to be shaped by
compression without cracking or rupturing.
•  Malleable metals are formed into thin sheets
thru hammering, rolling or pressing. These
sheets of metals are then used to form shapes
for structural, vehicular or mechanical needs.
Luster
•  Luster is the way in which a material reflects
light.
•  There are two main types of luster: metallic and
nonmetallic.
•  A metallic luster is shiny and similar to the
reflection from a metal object, such as a faucet.
•  A mineral that does not shine like metal has a
nonmetallic luster.
Density
•  The measurement of how much mass of a
substance is contained in a given volume.