Notes 2:2 - Physical Properties
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A physical property is any characteristic of a material that can be observed or measured without changing the compostion of the material
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Examples:
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Viscosity - risistance of a liquid to flowing
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Conductivity - ability of a material to allow heat or electricity to flow
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Malleability - ability of a solid to be hammered without shattering (must be solid)
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Hardness - resistance to scratching (must be solid)
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Melting point - the temp at which a solid turns into liquid
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Boiling point - the temp at which a substance boils
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Density - the ratio of mass to volume (m/v=d)
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Usefulness of physical properties
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Physical properties are used to identify a material, to choose a material for a specific purpose or to separate substances from a mixture
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The methods often involve math since many physical properties are discribed by numbers
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Separating Mixtures
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Filtration - separating substances based on the size of the particles (eg. sand from water)
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Distillation - separation of substances based on their boiling points (requires the boiling points to be different from eachother)