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Multiple Choice

Which term describes characteristics of a material that do not involve its chemical nature?

Physical properties are characteristics observed or measured without changing the substance’s chemical identity. They describe how a material appears or behaves under conditions, without altering what it is made of—for example, melting point, boiling point, density, hardness, color, and electrical conductivity. These differ from chemical properties, which describe how a substance reacts with other substances or how its composition changes, such as flammability or reactivity with acids. Toxic properties relate to harm potential, which again ties to how the material interacts with biological systems, not to a non-chemical description. So, the term for characteristics that don’t involve the chemical nature is physical properties.

Physical properties are characteristics observed or measured without changing the substance’s chemical identity. They describe how a material appears or behaves under conditions, without altering what it is made of—for example, melting point, boiling point, density, hardness, color, and electrical conductivity. These differ from chemical properties, which describe how a substance reacts with other substances or how its composition changes, such as flammability or reactivity with acids. Toxic properties relate to harm potential, which again ties to how the material interacts with biological systems, not to a non-chemical description. So, the term for characteristics that don’t involve the chemical nature is physical properties.