Vocabularies in Chapter 3--- Physical Properties & Changes Created by: Chloe Xu 11B

Qualitative information  Non-numerical Information gathered from simple observation.  Sample sentence: When given an unknown substance, it is suggested to collect the qualitative information first.

Quantitative information  Numerical information gathered from measurement and calculations, using devices or machines.  Sample sentence: “Now we are going to collect some quantitative information of this substance.” The teacher says.

Observation  Qualitative information gathered through our five senses.  Sample sentence: Scientists often do careful observations when they discover a new substance before they use it in experiment.

Interpretation  A personal explanation about what something means.  Sample sentence: These students are allowed to make any interpretations about this phenomenon before they are given the right answer.

Description  A set of properties of a substance.  Sample sentence: You may find the description of silver on Wikipedia.

Data  Quantitative information which is collected from experiments or devices.  Sample sentence: Wendy and her partner have just filled in their data table when the class is over.

Experiment  A scientific test that is done in order to study what happens and discover a result.  Sample sentence: We are planning to do an experiment on how microwave affect the growth of plants this year.

Hypothesis  An unproven assumption that tries to explain why something behave in a specific way.  Sample sentence: Henry is a genius at science. His hypothesis is always much more accurate than other students’.

Theory  A formal set of ideas that are used to explain why something happens after being tested.  Sample sentence: Natural Selection is the central proposal in Darwin’s Theory of Evolution.

Law  A statement of fact that something always happens in the same way in nature.  Sample sentence: Isaac Newton proposed two laws: Law of Gravitation and Law of Motion.

Matter  Anything that has mass and occupies space.  Sample sentence: Nowadays, most people consider matter more important than mind and spirit.

Physical property  Property that can be found without the creation of new substances.  Sample sentence: Physical properties include density, color, malleability and so on.

Chemical property  Property that can be found after a chemical reaction occurs and new substances are produced.  Sample sentence: Chemical properties include flammability, PH, radioactivity and so on.

Extensive property  A physical property that varies according to the amount of substance present.  Sample sentence: The data differences between different trials are usually caused by the effects of extensive properties.

Intensive property  A physical property that depends only on the nature of the substance.  Sample sentence: “Intensive properties always keep the same no matter how much of the substance is are present.” The teacher says.

Solids  The state of matter in which atoms or molecules are fixed in position and are unable to move freely. They are packed into a given volume and do not readily change their shape.  Sample sentence: The baby is not suitable for eating solid food yet.

Liquids  The state of matter in which atoms or molecules have sufficient room to slide past one another while still remain close to each other. They conform to the shape of the containers.  Sample sentence: Water is the most common kind of liquid exist on earth.

Gases  The state of matter in which atoms or molecules are widely spread and can move around freely. They conform to the shape of the container and can undergo huge changes when received pressure.  Sample sentence: An explosion may occur when too many gas molecules are trapped in a closed container.

Hardness  The ability of a substance to resist abrasion or hit.  Sample sentence: Diamond is a substance that has the most hardness ever known to humans.

Malleability  The ability of a substance to be crafted into different shapes.  Sample sentence: Due the high malleability of gold, it has been crafted and used in trade and personal decorations.

Ductility  The ability of a substance to be stretched into thin wires.  Sample sentence: Copper has both excellent ductility and conductivity.

Luster  The ability of a substance to reflect light.  Sample sentence: It is said that, the more luster a pearl has, the more value it worth.

Viscosity  The ability of a substance to resist flow.  Sample sentence: We can observe that honey has higher viscosity than water.

Diffusion  The gradual mixing of two substances as a result of motion.  Sample sentence: Diffusion can occur between every states of matter, while solution can only occur among solid and liquid.

Vapor  The gases material that forms by the evaporation of a substance.  Sample sentence: Chinese had discovered a special way of cooking food by heat them up with vapors.

Element  A simple chemical substance that consists of atoms of only one type.  Sample sentence: The teacher asked us to find the most reactive elements on the periodic table.

Atom  The smallest unit of an element. It contains all the fundamental properties.  Sample sentence: There are 2 Hydrogen atoms and 1 Oxygen atom in a water molecule.

Molecule  A combination of two or more atoms.  Sample sentence: Water is made up of many H2O molecules.

Ion  An atom or molecule which possessed a positive or negative electric charge.  Sample sentence: Some elements, such as Iron and Manganese, can have two or more ion charges.

Particle  A very small piece of matter. For example, electrons in an atom.  Sample sentence: My friend changed her Facebook name to “Particle accelerator”.

Homogeneous substance  Substance that has only one phase. (same structure)  Sample sentence: Table salt, sugar and air are some common examples of homogeneous substance. Ignore the spoon

Heterogeneous substance  Substance that has only two or more phases. (different structures)  Sample sentence: There are more heterogeneous substances than homogeneous substances in the world!

Pure substance  Homogeneous substance that consists of only one type of atom or molecule.  Sample sentence: Element and compound are two kinds of pure substance.

Mixture  A system consists of two or more types of atoms or molecules.  Sample sentence: Everything we drink, except for water, is a mixture.

Mechanical mixture  Mixture that can be separated by mechanical means.  Sample sentence: Chinese food such as Kung Pao chicken are examples of mechanical mixture.

Solution  Homogeneous mixture of two or more substances.  Sample sentence: The ocean is a huge mass of salt-in-water solution.

Solvent  The substance that is used to dissolve another substance.  Sample sentence: Water is an excellent solvent. It can dissolve many substances. Water is the solvent

Solute  The substance that is dissolved by another substance.  Sample sentence: In a soda pop, Carbon dioxide and sugar are dissolved by water. Ink is the solute

Compound  A pure substance that is formed by two or more elements chemically combined.  Sample sentence: Table salt is a compound of sodium and chlorine.

Homogeneous mixture  A mixture that has only one phase.  Sample sentence: The physical properties of homogeneous mixture will change if its composition is changed.

Heterogeneous mixture  A mixture that has two or more phases.  Sample sentence: Each substances that make up of a heterogeneous mixture have their own set of properties.

Filtration  One method of the physical separation of substance. It is used to separate liquids from a solid-in-liquid mixture.  Sample sentence: We can use filtration to separate clean water from a cup of dirty water.

Filtrate  The liquid which is separated from the mixture and passed from the filter paper.  Sample sentence: Put a beaker under the funnel to receive the filtrate!

Residue  The substance which is left on the filter paper.  Sample sentence: Residues of pesticides can build up in the soil.

Distillation  Separation of liquid-in-liquid solution according to different boiling points.  Sample sentence: Sometimes, distillation may be used to separate solid-in-liquid solution to get the liquid more quickly.

Solvent extraction  Separation of the components in a solution by adding a new solvent according to variations in the solubility of different substances.  Sample sentence: Solvent extraction can be used to separate a sand/sugar mixture to leave the sand behind.

Recrystallization  Method for purifying chemical compounds in which the compound is dissolved in a solvent and slowly cooled to form crystals.  Sample sentence: Crystals that are produced after recrystallization are often very pure.

Gravity separation  Separation of solid from a mechanical mixture according to their density.  Sample sentence: Biologists use gravity separation to separate blood cells and plasma from bloods.

Chromatography  Separation of a mixture by passing it through a material which some parts of the mixture travel further than others.  Sample sentence: In a chromatography experiment, we can observe the colors used to produce different inks.

Chemical change  A change that undergoes chemical reactions and produce new substances.  Sample sentence: Chemical changes can be expressed in chemical equations.

Physical change  A change in the phase of a substance. No new substance is formed.  Sample sentence: If a substance changes in shape, volume and density, while no new substance is produced, a physical change has occurred.

Kinetic energy  The energy an object possessed due to its motion.  Sample sentence: All moving objects possesses kinetic energy.

Rotational energy  One type of kinetic energy which causes a molecule to rotate around ONE OF its axes.  Sample sentence: Bond lengths and bond angles are not changed in the rotational energy of a molecule.

Vibrational energy  One type of kinetic energy in a molecule possesses due to the vibration of its atoms.  Sample sentence: (Both) bond lengths and/or bond angles are changed in vibrational energy.

Translational energy  One type of kinetic energy which causes the entire molecule to travel from place to place on a straight path.  Sample sentence: Bond lengths and bond angles are not affected in translational energy.