Q1 W7 Properties of Matter

Properties of Matter

Odor

Odor is also called smell. We use our sense of smell to detect odors that might be produced by a particular substance. Sulfur has the unpleasant odor of rotting eggs, where carbon monoxide is completely odorless.

Melting and Boiling Point

This is the temperature at which a substance goes from a solid to a liquid (Melting Point) or a liquid to a gas (Boiling Point). For example, antifreeze has a higher boiling point and lower freezing point than water, which is useful in a car’s engine to keep it from freezing in cold weather or overheating in hot weather.

Ability to Conduct Heat or Electricty

Some materials conduct electricity and others do not. Aluminum and copper are good conductors of both heat & electricity, but wood, rubber, and plastic are not.

Color

This property is the color of a substance. Some substances have specific distinctcolors like gold, while others like oxygen are colorless.

Flammability

This property refers to the ability to burn. Wood is flammable; iron is not.

Malleability

This property refers to the ability of a solid to bend or be hammered into other shapes without breaking. Gold is very malleable so it can be made into foil/leafing for art and food. The wood of a pencil is not malleable, it will break.

Solubility

This property is the ability to dissolve in another substance: Some substancesdissolve and others do not. Sand does not dissolve in water, sugar does.

Hardness

This property refers to whether or not an object can be scratched by something else. For example, a diamond is the hardest mineral found on Earth and can scratch most everything else. Chalk has a very low hardness; it can be scratched by a fingernail.

Reactivity

This property refers to the ability of matter to combine chemically with other substances.

• Iron is highly reactive with oxygen. When iron combines with oxygen, a reddish powder called rust forms. Rust is not iron but an entirely different substance that has molecules made of both iron and oxygen.
• Water is very reactive to sodium, when a small amount of water is added to a small amount of sodium, it reacts explosively.

State of Matter

This property refers to whether the substance is a solid, liquid, or gas. At room temperature oxygen is a gas, water is a liquid, and aluminum is a solid. However, at other temperatures these substances may turn into a different state.

Density

Density is the amount of mass of a substance compared to its volume. It shows how closely packed the atoms or molecules of matter are. A solid rock’s particles are more dense than water and will sink while wood is less dense than water and will float.