Physical property

A Physical property (/ˈfɪzɪkəl ˈprɒpərti/) is a characteristic of a substance that can be observed or measured without changing the substance's identity. These properties include color, smell, freezing point, boiling point, melting point, infra-red spectrum, attraction (paramagnetic) or repulsion (diamagnetic) to magnets, opacity, viscosity and density. There are many more examples of physical properties than those given here.

Etymology

The term "Physical property" is derived from the Greek word "physis" which means nature and "property" from the Latin word "proprietas" which means a quality or attribute.

Related terms

Chemical property: A characteristic that is revealed when a substance interacts with another substance, resulting in a change in chemical composition.
Intensive property: A physical property that does not depend on the amount of the substance present.
Extensive property: A physical property that does depend on the quantity of the substance present.
State of matter: The distinct forms that different phases of matter take on, which include solid, liquid, gas, and plasma.
Density: The mass per unit volume of a substance.
Viscosity: A measure of a fluid's resistance to flow.
Melting point: The temperature at which a solid becomes a liquid.
Boiling point: The temperature at which a liquid becomes a gas.
Opacity: The measure of impenetrability to electromagnetic or other kinds of radiation, especially visible light.