Examples of physical changes vs. chemical changes

📚 Quick Study Guide

• 🧊Physical Change: A change that alters the form or appearance of a substance but does not change its chemical composition. Think changes of state (solid, liquid, gas). Examples: melting ice, cutting paper, dissolving sugar in water.
• 🔥Chemical Change: A change that results in the formation of a new substance with different chemical properties. Chemical bonds are broken and/or formed. Often irreversible. Examples: burning wood, rusting iron, baking a cake.
• 🧪Key Indicators of a Chemical Change:
  • 🌡️ Change in temperature (exothermic or endothermic)
  • 💨 Production of gas (bubbles)
  • 🌈 Change in color
  • ✨ Formation of a precipitate (solid)
• 📝Important Note: Dissolving is often a physical change, but some dissolutions can involve chemical reactions.

Practice Quiz

1. Which of the following is an example of a PHYSICAL change?
   1. Burning wood
   2. Rusting of iron
   3. Melting ice
   4. Cooking an egg
2. Which of the following is an example of a CHEMICAL change?
   1. Boiling water
   2. Crushing a can
   3. Digesting food
   4. Dissolving salt in water
3. Which of the following observations indicates that a CHEMICAL change has likely occurred?
   1. Change in shape
   2. Change in mass
   3. Formation of bubbles
   4. Change in volume
4. Is dissolving sugar in water typically a physical or chemical change?
   1. Chemical change
   2. Physical change
   3. Neither
   4. Both
5. Which process involves breaking chemical bonds to form new substances?
   1. Physical change
   2. Chemical change
   3. Phase transition
   4. Sublimation
6. Which of the following is NOT typically an indicator of a chemical change?
   1. Change in color
   2. Change in state
   3. Production of gas
   4. Formation of a precipitate
7. What type of change is the electrolysis of water (splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen)?
   1. Physical change
   2. Chemical change
   3. Phase change
   4. Nuclear change