{"id":231226,"date":"2025-06-10T17:38:11","date_gmt":"2025-06-10T17:38:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/learnexams.com\/blog\/?p=231226"},"modified":"2025-06-10T17:38:13","modified_gmt":"2025-06-10T17:38:13","slug":"describe-the-difference-between-intensive-and-extensive-properties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/2025\/06\/10\/describe-the-difference-between-intensive-and-extensive-properties\/","title":{"rendered":"Describe the difference between intensive and extensive properties."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Describe the difference between intensive and extensive properties. Which of the following properties are intensive: (a) mass: (b) density; (c) volume; (d) melting point?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Correct Answer and Explanation is:<\/mark><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The correct answer is that (b) density<\/strong> and (d) melting point<\/strong> are intensive properties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

In the study of matter, physical properties are categorized into two main types: intensive and extensive. The distinction between them is based on whether the property depends on the amount of substance present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Extensive properties<\/strong> are those that depend on the quantity or size of the sample. These properties are additive; if a system is divided into parts, the value of the extensive property for the whole system is the sum of the values for its parts. For example, mass<\/strong> is an extensive property because the mass of an object is directly proportional to the amount of matter it contains. A 20-gram block of iron has twice the mass of a 10-gram block. Similarly, volume<\/strong> is extensive because it measures the amount of space a substance occupies. Combining two liters of water results in a total volume of four liters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In contrast, intensive properties<\/strong> are independent of the amount of substance. They are intrinsic characteristics of the material itself. No matter how much or how little of a substance is present, an intensive property remains the same. For instance, the melting point<\/strong> of water is 0\u00b0C (at standard pressure). This temperature is the same for a small ice cube as it is for a giant iceberg; it is a fundamental characteristic of water, not its quantity. Likewise, density<\/strong>, which is the ratio of mass to volume (mass\/volume), is an intensive property. While both mass and volume are extensive, their ratio is constant for a given substance. A single drop of water and a swimming pool full of water have the same density. Dividing a sample in half will halve its mass and its volume, but their ratio\u2014the density\u2014remains unchanged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Describe the difference between intensive and extensive properties. Which of the following properties are intensive: (a) mass: (b) density; (c) volume; (d) melting point? The Correct Answer and Explanation is: The correct answer is that (b) density and (d) melting point are intensive properties. In the study of matter, physical properties are categorized into two main types: intensive and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-231226","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-exams-certification"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231226","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=231226"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231226\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=231226"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=231226"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=231226"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}