A characteristic property is a property that is unique to a particular substance. It can be used to identify the substance. These numbers are kind of like the “profile” of the substance.

Characteristic properties include: 1) Density: mass/volume usually measured in g/cm 3 2) Solubility: A measure of the ability of a substance to dissolve in another substance (usually water). Substances that are highly soluble tend to “disappear” in water. Insoluble substances tend to remain visible as solids (precipitates). 3) Melting Point (MP): The temperature at which the substance changes from a solid to a liquid. Ex. MP of water is 0  C. 4) Boiling Point: The temperature at which the substance changes from a liquid to a gas. The BP of water is 100  C. 5) Reactivity: The tendency of a chemical to react. Ex. Baking soda and vinegar react to form bubbles. Baking soda and water do not react.

There are other properties that are NOT characteristic. They CANNOT be used to identify the substance. The following ARE NOT characteristic properties. 1) Mass Ex. A 5g piece of gold would have less mass than a 10g piece of gold. Both samples are still gold and would have the same density, melting point, and boiling point. Ex. 5g of gallium and 5g of silver would have different densities, melting points, and boiling points. 2) Volume Ex. A 10mL beaker of water would have less volume than a 100mL water. Both samples are water and would have the same density, melting point, and boiling point. Ex. The gallium spoon and a silver spoon could both have the same volume. However, they would have different densities, melting point, and boiling points.