What are the properties of substances?

Physical properties of substances include all characteristics that can be observed or measured without altering the composition of the target substance. These include: 

• Mass – the amount of matter present in the substance 
• Density – the measurement of mass in relation to volume
• Volume – the amount of space occupied by a substance
• Melting point – the temperature at which a solid gets converted to a liquid phase at atmospheric pressure
• Boiling point – the temperature at which a liquid gets converted to a gaseous state at atmospheric pressure
• Hygroscopicity – the tendency of a solid substance to absorb moisture from the surrounding atmosphere 
• Conductivity – the measure of a substance’s ability or lack of ability to conduct heat or electricity 
• Hardness – the ability of a solid substance to withstand permanent change of shape due to external stress
• Strength – the measure of a substance’s ability to resist breaking down or getting deformed when an external force is applied
• Elasticity – the ability of a solid substance to regain its original shape, volume, or size on removing an external deforming force
• Brittleness – the tendency of a solid substance to fracture easily when subjected to an external force or load 
• Malleability – the ability of a solid substance to get deformed when subjected to compressive stress 

Chemical properties of a substance include characteristics that can only be observed or measured when it undergoes a chemical change. These include: 

Flammability – the tendency of a substance to burn and transform into another substance, example wood burns and gets transformed into ash

Reactivity – the ease with which a substance combines chemically with other substances, example sodium and chlorine are highly reactive while gold and platinum are extremely inactive