Properties

What are the Properties of Matter?

Properties or physical and chemical properties are considered a key to understanding chemical elements (atoms, molecules), substances, or matter present in our earth’s environment in science. They are the characteristics of a material that enable us to differentiate one material from another.

Properties physical and chemical property of matter in chemistry

Properties of matter include density, colour, mass, volume, length, malleability, melting point, hardness, odour, temperature, reactivity, acidity, ionization energy, electron affinity, hydration enthalpy, electronegativity, etc.

  • Physical Property: A physical property is a characteristic of matter that can be observed and measured without changing its chemical identity. Therefore, appearance, color, order, melting and boiling points, atomic weight, molecular weight, density, electrical conductance are considered physical properties of matter.
  • Chemical Property: A chemical property is a characteristic of matter that can be observed and measured when a substance undergoes a chemical change. Chemical properties include reactivity, acidity, ionization energy, electron affinity, oxidation number, hydration enthalpy, electronegativity, chemical bonding, etc.

An observable property is a characteristic of materials that we can describe using our five senses. We can use our senses to observe colour, texture, hardness, and flexibility of a material.

Reactivity is an important property of matter in learning chemistry that derives the tendency of matter to combine chemically with other substances. Therefore, certain substances are highly reactive and some are inactive.

Calculate oxidation number or state of periodic table chemical elements

Oxidation Number

Oxidation Number of Periodic Table Elements Oxidation number or state of periodic table elements in a chemical compound or molecule is the formal charge (positive...
Electron affinity definition, calculation and trend of periodic table elements in chemistry

Electron Affinity

What is electron affinity? Electron affinity (EA) or electron gain enthalpy or simply affinity in the periodic table defines the amount of energy released when...
Shielding electrons effect and Slater's rule for calculating the screening constant

Shielding Electrons

Shielding Electrons and Slater's Rule Shielding electrons or screening electrons decreases the attractive force between the valence shell electron and the nucleus of the atom....