Physical Properties

• Malleability


  Ability to be hammered into flat sheets - commonly applies to metals
• Opaque


  This means that light cannot pass through objects that are like this
• Transparent


  This means that most of the light that hits objects like this will pass through it
• Translucent


  This means that some of the light that hits objects like this will pass through it
• Ductility


  The ability to be stretched into wires
• Brittleness


  How easily an object shatters
• Colour


  This is described by terms like red, blue, orange, etc;
• Texture


  How an object feels to the touch [coarse, fine, slippery]
• Hardness


  The resistance of an object to being scratched
• Taste


  This is described with words such as sweet, sour, salty
• Lustre


  How shiny an object is
• Physical State


  Wether a substance is a solid, liquid, gas
• Viscosity


  This refers to the resistance of a liquid to flow
• Optical Clarity


  A general term which describes how easy it is to see through an object
• Solid


  Has a fixed shape and volume
• Solubility


  Refers to how much of a substance can be dissolved in a solvent
• Smell


  This wafting technique should always be used to detect this property
• Liquid


  Has a fixed volume of a container and always takes the shape of a container
• Gas


  Fills the entire volume of a container and always takes the shape of the container
• Conductivity


  Describes how easily heat or electricity can pass through an object
• Form


  This describes as crystalline [regularly shaped] or amorphous [irregularly shaped]