Download Unit 4: Physical Properties and Changes

Unit 4: Physical Properties and Changes
Review Vocabulary:
Boiling – temperature where a liquid changes to a gas
Buoyancy – tendency of an object to float or rise in a fluid
Evaporating – phase change where a liquid becomes a gas
Freezing – phase change where a liquid becomes a solid
Gas – phase of matter that has no definite shape or volume
Insulate – to prevent the passage of heat, sound, and electricity through an object
Liquid – phase of matter that has definite volume but no definite shape
Magnetic – having the properties of a magnet, an object that can attract iron
Melting – phase change where a solid becomes a liquid
Solid – phase of matter that has definite shape and volume
Substance – matter; anything that has mass and takes up space
Texture – the appearance and feel of a substance
Content Vocabulary:
Brittle – likely to break, snap, or crack when subjected to pressure
Conductivity – a property that describes if heat or electrical charges pass through the material
easily
Density – the amount of matter in a given space or volume, a relationship between mass and
volume
Displacement – a way to measure the volume of a solid by placing it in a known amount of
liquid
Ductility – a property that describes if the material has the ability to be pulled into thin wire
without breaking
Luster – the way the surface of a mineral reflects light; either metallic or non-metallic such as
silky, dull, glassy, or resinous
Malleability – a property that describes the ability of the material to be rolled or hammered
into thin sheets
Metal – an element that is typically a hard, shiny solid, is malleable, and is a good conductor of
heat and electricity
Metalloid – an element that shares some properties of metals and some of non-metals
Non-metal – an element that is usually a gas or brittle solid at room temperature, is not
malleable or ductile, is a poor conductor of heat and electricity, and is typically not shiny
Overflow can – a can used for measuring the volume of an object (usually an irregular shaped
one) by fluid displacement
Physical Property – those characteristics that can be observed without changing the identity of
the substance such as size, shape, luster, conductivity, malleability, and magnetic attraction
Property – the characteristics or qualities of a substance; physical and chemical
State of Matter – a phase is another name for a physical state of matter such as solid, liquid, or
gas