Ever put salt in your cereal when you thought it was sugar? Now that you understand some of the different physical properties of matter, such as melting point, solubility and density, take a look at how you can use those properties to tell one type of matter from another--such as a cup of sugar from a cup of salt--without having to taste them.
Watch this video to find out more about how physical properties uniquely define different types of matter. As you watch the segment, pay special attention to which properties depend on the amount of matter.
Stop the animation at any time, watch it again, or read the transcript.
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Matter is physical and has properties that can be measured. Turns out that those properties and the points at which substances physically change are a very good way to define matter.
Gold, for instance, has properties that stay the same no matter how much --or how little-- gold you have. One ounce and one ton are both a certain color (gold), have the same density (19.32 grams per cubic centimeter) and dissolve in a solvent the same way (solubility).
And one ounce and one ton of gold both physically change the same way when energy is added or taken away. They both melt at the same temperature and boil at the same temperature.
These physical properties (melting point/boiling point/solubility/density) and their specific values are due to the physical arrangement of gold atoms-- regardless of how much you have.
There are other properties-- such as volume, mass, weight-- that can also be measured, but these measurements depend on the amount of the substance you have.
Hydrogen. Helium, salt, sugar, water-- all matter has physical properties based on its molecular make-up that we can measure and observe.
Which physical properties of matter discussed in the animation can be observed or measured regardless of the matter's amount?