Which property cannot be measured without changing the identity or composition of matter?

Which property cannot be measured without changing the identity or composition of matter?

• A. Physical Properties
• B. Intensive Properties
• C. Chemical Properties
• D. Extensive Properties

Answer: (C)

Chemical properties describe how a substance behaves in a chemical reaction, which usually requires the substance to undergo a chemical change that alters its identity or composition. To observe something like flammability, reactivity with acids, or tendency to corrode, you must cause the substance to react, producing new substances in the process. In contrast, physical properties can be measured without changing what the substance is—color, melting point, density, and malleability can be assessed while the material remains the same substance. Intensive and extensive classifications describe how properties behave, not whether measuring them requires a chemical change. So the property that cannot be measured without changing identity or composition is chemical property.

Chemical properties describe how a substance behaves in a chemical reaction, which usually requires the substance to undergo a chemical change that alters its identity or composition. To observe something like flammability, reactivity with acids, or tendency to corrode, you must cause the substance to react, producing new substances in the process. In contrast, physical properties can be measured without changing what the substance is—color, melting point, density, and malleability can be assessed while the material remains the same substance. Intensive and extensive classifications describe how properties behave, not whether measuring them requires a chemical change. So the property that cannot be measured without changing identity or composition is chemical property.