What are Physical Properties?
Physical properties are measurable characteristics that describe the state of a physical system. The transition from floating to non-floating states of a system can be explained by changes in its physical attributes. Physical amounts refer to physical properties that can be measured. They are not modal attributes. They are observables.
Physical properties are described as intensive or extensive. A characteristic with an extended additive relationship is not dependent on the size or extent of the system or its matter content. As a rule, these divisions are only accurate when the cumulative effects of the sample‘s smaller subdivisions don’t interact.
Physical attributes come in two types: intensive and extensive.
It is a physical characteristic of a system that is unaffected by the size or composition of its materials, which is called an intensive property. Temperature, refractive index, density, and hardness are some intense attributes.
The individual fragments of a diamond, when cut, retain their natural hardness (until they reach a few atoms thick).
Extensive properties: An extensive property applies to isolated, non-interacting subsystems. It is influenced by the quantity of materials.
What are Chemical Properties?
Chemical property is any quality that is created only by altering a substance’s chemical identity. Chemical properties are formed during or after chemical reactions. A substance’s chemical properties cannot be examined by looking at or feeling it; instead, their internal structure must be dramatically altered before their chemical properties can be examined. In chemical reactions, the properties of a substance change significantly, resulting in a chemical change. A catalytic property is also a chemical property.
The physical qualities of a substance can be contrasted with its chemical properties, which cannot be altered. For many qualities that fall under the purview of physical chemistry and other fields at the interface between chemistry and physics, the distinction may only be relevant from a researcher’s perspective. There could be several layers of supervenience in material features. In addition, chemical attributes can help identify unidentified chemicals and separate or purify them from other substances. Materials science considers the chemical properties of a substance when determining its applications.
When a substance undergoes a chemical reaction or transformation, its chemical attributes emerge. To examine chemical properties, people must alter the material’s real structure; these properties cannot be observed by touching or looking at samples.
Difference Between Physical and Chemical Properties
A chemical reaction only changes the composition of matter, while physical attributes determine the features of matter. These include density, color change, electric conductivity, and many others.
Physical attributes alter the states of matter without affecting the molecular structure, while chemical qualities alter the chemical identity of substances.
A chemical property alters a substance’s structure, unlike physical properties, which don’t.
Chemical qualities of a substance are determined by chemical reactions; physical properties are determined without chemical reactions.
In most cases, physical attributes determine a substance’s physical composition, while chemical properties indicate how it interacts.
Comparison Between Physical and Chemical Properties
| Parameters of comparison | Physical properties | Chemical properties |
| Basic Nature | Here, physical change takes place. | Here, chemical change occurs. |
| Bonding | Bonding doesn’t affect the properties in this case because it doesn’t require an exact bond. | Qualities of a substance are influenced by the chemical bonds within it. |
| Reaction | A change in the property is demonstrated without requiring any chemical reaction. | To demonstrate a change in properties, a chemical change must occur. |
| Examples | Volume, freezing point, melting point, and weight of molecules | Inflammability, toxicity, radioactivity, compressibility, and viscosity |
| Chemical Reactions | Determined by chemical reactions | Not necessarily determined by chemical reactions |