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Matter Terminology    Classifying Matter  Phases of Matter  Physical and Chemical Changes  Separation Techniques  Vapor Pressure  Phase Changes  Heating Curve  Phase Diagrams

Physical change is a change in which the substance changes form but keeps its same chemical composition (reversible).

*Changes of state are considered to be physical changes. Liquid water and ice (frozen water) are both the same substance, water.

*If you fold a piece of paper it is a physical change. You have changed the form of the paper but you have not changed the fact that it is paper.

*If you heat an iron bar until it glows red hot, it is still chemically the same iron. The iron has not changed into something else.

*If you dissolve salt in water you have not changed the materials chemically. You still have salt and you still have water. This can be shown if you choose to separate the mixture by distillation or the simple evaporation of the water. The salt would be the residue and the water would be the distillate.

A chemical change is a change in which something new is formed (irreversible). The starting materials change into an entirely different substance or substances. This new substance has a different chemical composition than the starting materials. Examples of chemical changes would be the reaction of iron with air (rusting} or the reaction of a metal and acid.

Certain observations will indicate that a chemical change has occurred. These are:

*The reaction produced a change in temperature. The temperature could go up (gets hotter) or the temperature could go down (gets colder). Note: reactions that produce heat are known as exothermic reactions whereas reactions that absorb heat are known as endothermic reactions.

*Formation of gas bubbles.

*Formation of a solid (precipitate).

*A change in color. You may start with two colorless solutions but when they are mixed you might see a bright purple color.

*Formation of a different odor. The starting materials may not smell at all but as you mix these materials you may end up with a bad odor or a pleasant one.

 

Changes Highlight to reveal Answer glass breaking Physical hammering wood together to build a house Physical a rusting bicycle  Chemical melting butter for popcorn  Physical separating sand from gravel  Physical spoiling food  Chemical mixing lemonade powder into water  Physical mowing the lawn  Physical corroding metal Chemical bleaching your hair  Chemical fireworks exploding  Chemical squeezing oranges to make orange juice  Physical frying an egg  Chemical pouring milk on your oatmeal  Physical burning leaves  Chemical making salt water to gargle with  Physical cream being whipped  Physical burning toast  Chemical freezing chocolate covered bananas  Physical melting ice cream  Physical

Matter Terminology    Classifying Matter  Phases of Matter  Physical and Chemical Changes  Separation Techniques  Vapor Pressure   Phase Changes  Heating Curve  Phase Diagrams

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