Sunday, October 3, 2010

Chemical vs. physical properties

Last week in Chemistry we learned the difference between chemical and physical properties! Now, I knew what a physical property was, but for chemical properties I was totally lost. I used to think that chemical properties were specific, like nitrogen or oxygen. After class, however, I  learned that a chemical property is how something reacts. For instance, when you leave a bike out in the rain, it can start to rust. Rust or oxidizing is a chemical reaction, thus meaning that it's a chemical property. My teacher showed us in this cool demonstration of a chemical property when he lit a helium balloon on fire! This was a chemical property because the chemical in the balloon had a flammable reaction. And that's the end of "chemical vs. physical properties"!

Interesting fact: Did you know that a candle burns approximately at 980 degrees?

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