What is the difference between chemical and physical properties

In other words, the only way to observe a chemical property is by performing a chemical reaction. This property measures the potential for undergoing a chemical change.

Examples of chemical properties include reactivity, flammability and oxidation states. Sometimes it can be tricky to know whether or not a chemical reaction has occurred. For example, when you melt ice into water, you can write the process in terms of a chemical reaction. However, the chemical formula on both sides of the reaction is the same.

Since the chemical identity of the matter in question is unchanged, this process represents a physical change. Thus melting point is a physical property. On the other hand, flammability is a chemical property of matter because the only way to know how readily a substance ignites is to burn it. In the chemical reaction for combustion, the reactants and products are different.

Usually, you don't have the chemical reaction for a process. You can look for tell-tale signs of a chemical change. These include bubbling, color change, temperature change, and precipitation formation. If you see signs of a chemical reaction, the characteristic you are measuring is most likely a chemical property.

If these signs are absent, the characteristic is probably a physical property. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content. Create a personalised content profile.

So things like colour, melting point, boiling point, density , hardness and so on are all physical properties. So something like heat of combustion can only be measured by combusting the substance. Enthalpy of formation can only be measured by forming a new substance. These are chemical properties. What is the difference between a physical and a chemical property? Simon Moore. May 23, Eventually, after studying chemistry for some time, you should be able to look at the formula of a compound and state some chemical property.

For example, hydrogen has the potential to ignite and explode given the right conditions—this is a chemical property. Metals in general have the chemical property of reacting with an acid.

Zinc reacts with hydrochloric acid to produce hydrogen gas—this is a chemical property. The more general term for rusting and other similar processes is corrosion. Other terms that are commonly used in descriptions of chemical changes are burn, rot, explode, decompose, and ferment. Chemical properties are very useful in identifying substances. However, unlike physical properties, chemical properties can only be observed as the substance is in the process of being changed into a different substance.

Physical properties include color, density, hardness, and melting and boiling points. A chemical property describes the ability of a substance to undergo a specific chemical change.

To identify a chemical property, we look for a chemical change. A chemical change always produces one or more types of matter that differ from the matter present before the change. The formation of rust is a chemical change because rust is a different kind of matter than the iron, oxygen, and water present before the rust formed. This page was constructed from content via the following contributor s and edited topically or extensively by the LibreTexts development team to meet platform style, presentation, and quality:.

Learning Objectives To separate physical from chemical properties. Physical Property A physical property is a characteristic of a substance that can be observed or measured without changing the identity of the substance. Both are a form of carbon, but exhibit very different physical properties. Chemical Properties Chemical properties of matter describe its potential to undergo some chemical change or reaction by virtue of its composition.