- What are the properties of matter?
- General properties of matter
- Specific properties of matter
- Extensive and intensive properties of matter
We explain what they are and what are the properties of matter. General, specific, intensive and extensive properties.
Matter is anything that has mass and occupies a place in space.What are the properties of matter?
Matter is everything that occupies an observable part of the space and has a certain amount of Energy associated. This makes it have a spatial location, directly affected by the passage of the weather. In other words, matter is what the human body is made of. universe, and that it can also be measured in some way.
The matter is all he has mass, occupies a place in space, remains in time and can be measurable with some instrument of measurement.
The properties of matter are divided into general (common properties that all bodies have and do not allow differentiating one substance from another) and specific (intrinsic properties of matter that allow to differentiate one body from another).
General properties of matter
The general properties of matter are:
- Extension. Space or volume that occupies a certain body.
- Mass. Amount of matter that a body contains.
- Inertia. Ability to retain its state of rest or movement without intervention of a force.
- Porosity. Space that exists between the particles of a body.
- Divisibility. Ability to subdivide into smaller parts of matter.
- Weight. Force exerted by gravity on a material body.
Specific properties of matter
The specific properties of matter are classified as:
Physical properties (define the form and the state in which matter can be measured):
- Density. Amount of mass per unit volume. Each material has its own density.
- Melting point. Temperature at which the substance changes from a solid state to liquid (it is an intensive property of the solid matter).
- Electric conductivity. Ability of a material to conduct electric current through its structure. There are materials that are good conductors of the electricity (Like the metals) and insulating materials (such as glass, plastic and wood).
- Thermal conductivity. Degree or extent to which a material can conduct heat. Temperature, material phase changes, and electrical conductivity influence thermal conductivity. Many metals have good thermal conductivity, whereas polymers They do not have good thermal conductivity and materials such as cork are thermal insulators.
- Boiling point. Temperature at which the pressure of steam of a liquid is equalized to the pressure that surrounds the liquid causing the liquid to transform into a gas. When the temperature of a liquid exceeds its boiling point, the Kinetic energy his particles (which is the energy they have as a result of their movement). The particles will break the surface tension of the liquid due to this increased movement and will go into the vapor phase.
Chemical properties (they define the reactivity of matter, that is, when a matter becomes a new one through a chemical reaction):
- Reactivity. Ability of a substance to react in the presence of another substance.
- Combustibility. Ability of a substance to burn. Combustion is a reaction of oxidation It happens quickly, and if it gets out of control, it can cause explosions. Fuels, such as gasoline, are substances that have high combustibility.
- Acidity. Characteristic that a substance has to behave like an acid. The pH of acids dissolved in Water is less than 7, while pure water has pH = 7.
- Alkalinity. The ability of a substance to counteract the effect of an acid, that is, to neutralize it.
Extensive and intensive properties of matter
On the other hand, the properties can be classified as extensive or intensive:
- Extensive properties. They are those in which the measured value resides in the properties of the mass. For example: weight, area, volume, and force.
- Intensive properties. They are properties that do not depend on mass, that is, they are the same for a small sample as for a large sample. For example, him color, taste, electronegativity, boiling point, melting point, and hardness.