Collegedunia Team Content Curator
Content Curator
The properties of matter define its physical and chemical states. Matter is defined as anything that has weight and occupies space through its volume.
- Properties are the features that enable us to distinguish a particular material from another.
- Matter is a physical substance that occupies space, has mass, consists of atoms, and can be converted into energy.
- There are three types of matter: solids, liquids, and gases.
- It also has qualities that may be characterized using terminology like density, solubility, conductivity, magnetism, and so on.
- The physical and chemical properties of matter can be extensive or intensive.
| Table of Content |
Key Terms: Solid, Liquid, Gas, Atoms, Motion, Opaque, Reactivity, Flammability, Corrosiveness, Toxicity, Acidity, Explosiveness, Mass, Volume, Physical properties, Chemical properties
What is Matter?
[Click Here for Sample Questions]
All physical structures are made up of matter. A matter is any substance that occupies space and has a mass and volume.
- It exists primarily in three forms; solid, liquid and gas.
- The state of matter is determined by the molecules present in it.
- If the molecules are tightly packed giving a substance a fixed shape and volume, it is solid.
- In liquids, the molecules are loosely packed and hence they do not have a definite shape but a fixed volume.
- In gases, the molecules are very loosely arranged and they neither have a definite shape nor fixed volume.
Matter
Also Read:
| Related Articles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Thermal Expansion | Specific Heat Capacity | Carnot Energy |
| Leatent Heat | Heat Capacity | Thermal Properties of Matter |
Properties of Matter
[Click Here for Sample Questions]
Properties are the characteristics that enable us to differentiate between two materials. Properties of matter refer to those traits that can be measured. It can be any object’s colour, hardness, weight, malleability, length, mass, density, temperature and many more.
Some basic properties of matter are:
- Matter is made up of small particles called atoms.
- The atoms are very small in size and can not be observed with the naked eye.
- The particles of matter are constantly in motion.
- The particles of matter have spaces between them.
- The particles of matter attract each other because of the force of attraction.
- Matter can be transparent or Opaque.
- Matter can either be a good conductor or a bad conductor of heat and electricity.
- Matter can be inflammable or inflammable.
These properties of matter are further divided into the Physical and Chemical properties of matter.
Properties of Matter
Physical Properties of Matter
[Click Here for Sample Questions]
Physical properties include those properties that can be easily measured and are observable.
- Physical properties are independent of their chemical composition.
- For example, if we tear a piece of paper, it remains paper and its chemical composition doesn’t change.
- The physical properties include shape, size, hardness, weight, density, flexibility, colour, texture, odour, temperature, volume, length, melting point, freezing point, electrical conductivity, etc. are all examples of physical properties of matter.
Chemical Properties of Matter
[Click Here for Sample Questions]
Chemical properties include those properties that are determined only by changing the molecular structure or chemical composition of any substance. These include reactivity, flammability, corrosiveness, toxicity, acidity, explosiveness etc.
- Reactivity is the tendency of a matter to react with another substance.
- Some materials are highly reactive, whereas some are extremely unreactive.
- Flammability refers to the tendency of any matter to burn.
- For example, paper, and wood are highly flammable.
- Corrosiveness is the property of a matter in which rust is formed on the matter.
- For example, iron when exposed to oxygen corrodes or forms rust as a result of a chemical reaction.
- Acidity is the ability of a substance to react with acid.
- Some metals form compounds when they react with different acids.
Chemical compositions are generally not reversible. For example, if the wood is burnt, it goes under chemical change and turns into ashes. The ashes cannot be converted back to wood. Burning in the presence of oxygen is called combustion and heat is released in the process.
Thermal Properties of Matter
[Click Here for Sample Questions]
Thermal properties are those properties that are related to how a matter will react when it is exposed to heat. In simple words, it refers to a matter’s heat conductivity.
The thermal properties of matter have four major components:
- Heat capacity: It is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature to 1 degree.
- Thermal expansion: It is the change in the shape of the matter when heat is supplied to it. In other words, when matters expand due to heat, it is called thermal expansion.
- Thermal conductivity: It is the property by which heat passes through the matter. Conductors pass heat through them easily. The examples of matter that best show thermal conductivity are copper, aluminium etc.
- Thermal stress: The heat causes matter to expand or converge leading to the creation of some kind of stress, this is called thermal stress.
Extensive and Intensive Properties of Matter
[Click Here for Sample Questions]
The physical and chemical properties of matter are often subdivided into extensive and intensive properties.
Extensive Properties
Extensive property refers to those properties that are dependent on the amount of matter present in a given sample.
- For example; the mass and volume of an object will depend on the amount of matter.
- If we add 5 kg of water to a 10 kg bucket of water, the mass will change to 15 kg as its volume will also become larger.
- The mass of water increases with increases in the amount of water.
Intensive Properties
Intensive property refers to those properties that are independent of the amount of matter present in any sample.
- For example; colour, density, boiling point and melting point.
- If we take a bucket with 10 kg of blue-coloured water and then add another 5 kg of blue-coloured water to it, the colour will remain the same.
- The boiling and the melting point of water will remain the same too.
Note: Mass and volume both are extensive property but their ratio called density is an example of intensive property.
Density= Mass/Volume
Chemical and Physical Change
[Click Here for Sample Questions]
The following are the chemical and physical changes in matter
Chemical Changes
Chemical changes result in structural change at the molecular level. For a chemical change, the chemical bonds are broken and new bonds are formed.
- Chemical changes lead to changes in the composition of any substance.
- This would mean that the substance with a certain set of properties like melting point, boiling point, colour, etc changes into a new substance with a different set of values for boiling point, melting point, colour, etc.
- Chemical changes are difficult to reverse as the chemical composition gets changed.
- For example, when a paper is burnt, it cannot be converted from ashes to paper as the chemical composition of paper will be changed.
Physical Changes
Physical changes do not change the chemical bonding of the substances they result in the formation of new bonds.
- Physical changes involve moving the molecules around but there will be no change in chemical composition.
- For example, if an ice cube is kept at room temperature, it will change from solid to liquid state but its chemical composition i.e. 2 molecules of Hydrogen and 1 molecule of Oxygen will remain the same.
- The compound will not have any changes at the molecular level.
- The end material will be the same as what it was in the beginning.
- The properties like boiling point, melting point, colour etc will not change.
- The physical changes can be reversible, unlike chemical changes.
- The molten ice cube can be refrigerated to obtain the ice cube back.
- Similarly, when salt is dissolved in water, it can be obtained by evaporating the water.
Also Read:
| Related Articles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Calorimetry | Blackbody Radiation | Cyclic Process |
| Thermal Conductivity | Coefficient of Linear Equation | Wiedemann Franz Law |
Things to Remember
- Every matter has some traits that can be measured by different methods. These traits are called properties.
- Every matter has some physical as well as chemical properties.
- The properties that can be easily measured and are observable are called physical properties while the ones that are determined by changing the structure are called chemical properties.
- Physical properties are divided into types: intensive and extensive properties.
- Intensive properties are not dependent on the amount of matter while extensive properties are dependent on the amount.
- Thermal properties relate to how a matter will react when heat is passed through it.
- Chemical changes occur when a matter undergoes a chemical reaction while physical changes do not impact the chemical structure.
- Physical changes only change the appearance of the matter. It does not result in a new component with new properties.
Sample Questions
Ques. What are the four properties of matter? (2 Marks)
Ans. Extensive properties that differ from the sum of the substance include mass, weight, and volume. Colour, melting point, boiling point, electrical conductivity, and physical properties at a certain temperature are all examples of intensive properties that are not affected by the volume of the material.
Ques. Can density be a property of matter? (2 Marks)
Ans. Density is a physical property of matter that represents its mass-to-volume ratio. The more mass an object has in a particular amount of space, the denser it becomes. Density measurements are important for identifying between substances since their densities differ.
Ques. What is the meaning of properties of matter? (1 Mark)
Ans. Properties of matter refer to those traits that can be measured. It can range from chemical properties like flammability, corrosiveness, and acidity to physical properties like colour, texture, flexibility etc. It is these properties that make one matter distinct from another.
Ques. Is texture a physical property? How do we determine the texture of matter? (1 Mark)
Ans. Texture refers to the way how any matter feels when it is touched. The matter can be soft, silky, chalky, rough, sticky etc. The texture can be determined by our sense of touch. It is one of the physical properties of matter.
Ques. What is reactivity? (1 Mark)
Ans. The ability of a compound to react with other compounds and form a bond is called reactivity. Some substances are highly reactive like calcium and potassium hydrides while other substances are least reactive like nitrogen, plastics etc.
Ques. Explain why temperature remains constant during the interconversion of states of matter. (1 Mark)
Ans. Heat supplied to a substance is used during the conversion of its state to overcome the force of attraction between the particles. The excess heat given to the matter is absorbed by the particles in the form of latent heat.
Ques. Justify that the melting of wax is a physical change. (2 Marks)
Ans. The melting of wax is a physical change. It can be justified in two ways :
- There is no change in the chemical properties of wax even after melting.
- When the liquid wax is cooled, it again gets solidified.
- No new substance is formed after the wax is melted.
Ques. List any two properties of liquids that are common to gases. (2 Marks)
Ans. Two properties of liquids that are common to gases are:
- Both liquids and gases do not have any definite shape. They can take up the shape of the container in which they are kept.
- Both liquids and gases show the property of diffusion. Gases diffuse faster than liquids.
Ques. Why are intensive properties of matter important for scientists? (2 Marks)
Ans. Intensive properties do not depend on the amount of the substance. The colour, electrical conductivity, melting and boiling point are all examples of intensive properties and they do not change with the change in the amount of matter. Therefore they determine the identity of the substance and scientists study intensive properties to know about it.
Ques. What happens when magnesium reacts with oxygen? (2 Marks)
Ans. When magnesium reacts with oxygen, it leads to combustion. It is an example of a chemical reaction. When the chemical changes take place, a new product is formed. The product formed is magnesium oxide.
2Mg+ O2→ 2MgO
Magnesium+Oxygen → Magnesium Oxide
Ques. Substance ‘A’ has high compressibility and can be easily liquefied. It can take up the shape of any container. Predict the nature of the substance. Enlist four properties of this state of matter. (3 Marks)
Ans. ‘A’ is a gas.
Properties of gases:
- Gases do not have a fixed shape and fixed volume.
- Gases have large interparticle space.
- Gases have very little force of attraction between the molecules.
- Gases are highly compressible.
Ques. What is meant by the particulate nature of matter? List four characteristics of the particle nature of matter. (3 Marks)
Ans. The particulate nature of matter means that all matters are made up of tiny particles.
The important characteristics of the particle nature of matter are as follows :
- Every matter is made up of small particles.
- The particles of matter are very small in size.
- The particles have empty or vacant spaces between them. This space is known as an interparticle space.
- Particles are not stationary and are always in a state of motion.
Ques. Define (a) Compressibility (b) Rigidity (c) Fluidity (3 Marks)
Ans. (a) Compressibility: The property by which the particles of any matter come closer upon applying pressure is known as compressibility.
(b) Rigidity: Rigidity is the property of the particles of a matter to resist a change in shape and size on applying stress.
(c) Fluidity: The property by which particles of a matter have a tendency to flow is called fluidity.
For Latest Updates on Upcoming Board Exams, Click Here: https://t.me/class_10_12_board_updates
Also Check:
Comments