Properties

1. Properties are the defining characteristics of a substance. The type of properties that we are interested in are the properties of substances not objects. Aluminum, for example, can be shaped into many different objects. However, we are interested in what properties all of these objects share.
2. Physical Properties
   1. Physical properties can be determined without destroying the original substance.
   2. Physical properties tend to be those which are easily observed or measured without reacting the substance with another chemical.
   3. What are some examples of physical properties?
3. Chemical Properties
   1. Chemical properties describe how one substance can react with another substance. To determine chemical properties and experiment must be done in which some of the original substance is reacted with another substance.
   2. What are some examples of chemical properties?
4. Chemical reactions have occurred when you change the physical and chemical properties of the original reactants. The new substance will have new properties that may be completely different.
5. The properties of a substance are based on the underlying types and arrangement of atoms and molecules. The world of the unseen is our complete explanation for the observed properties. Carbon comes in several forms. Below are two of them: GRAPHITE and DIAMOND. Notice the differences between the two atomic structures. How can they explain the property of hardness?

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