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