How to Create a Chart That Compares Physical & Chemical Properties

Charts comparing chemical and physical properties are easy to make.

You may have heard the expression that someone is a "tall drink of water," meaning that the person in reference is boring or bland. Scientifically speaking, however, a tall drink of water (with ice) can actually provide for some interesting observations if you break down the substances (liquid water and ice) into their chemical and physical properties. While both are comprised of H2O, the two substances are physically different. To compare physical and chemical properties of a substance, make a simple chart.

Things You'll Need

• Blank piece of paper or white board
• Pens or dry erase markers

Instructions

1. Draw two vertical lines on your white board or blank piece of paper to form two columns on the page.

2. Draw a horizontal line near the top of your chart. Leave enough room for you to label the columns. Label one column "Physical Properties" and the other one "Chemical Properties."

3. Write the name of a substance on the left hand side of the page. List the chemical and physical properties of the substance in the appropriate columns. For example, you could start with "Ice." In the physical properties column, you could write "cold," "hard," "slippery" and "opaque." In the chemical properties, you would write "H2O." Draw a horizontal line underneath the name of the substance to form a break between the substances you are comparing.

4. Continue adding substances to your chart and filling in the information. For example, under "Ice," you could write "liquid water." After filling in the chemical and physical properties of "liquid water" you could compare them to ice and discover that, while each substance is different physically, the substances are the same chemically.

References

• FordhamPrep.org: Physical and Chemical Properties
• NDT-ED.org: Physical and Chemical Properties