Physical and Chemical Properties Worksheet

Ten facts about everyday substances to sort under Physical property or Chemical property, with an answer key.

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NameDateMade at homeroomtools.comWrite each word of the word box under its heading.Word boxPhysical or chemical property?Physical propertyChemical propertygasoline is flammablesalt dissolves in watercopper conducts electricitygold is a shiny yellow metaliron rusts in damp airglass is brittlewood can burnwater boils at 100 degrees Ccopper turns green outdoorsbaking soda fizzes in vinegar
NameDateMade at homeroomtools.comWrite each word of the word box under its heading.Physical or chemical property?Answer keyPhysical propertyChemical propertycopper conducts electricitysalt dissolves in waterglass is brittlegold is a shiny yellow metalwater boils at 100 degrees Cgasoline is flammableiron rusts in damp airwood can burncopper turns green outdoorsbaking soda fizzes in vinegar
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Physical property 14

  • aluminum conducts heat well Physical. Thermal conductivity. It is why cooking pans are made of metal.
  • aluminum rolls into thin foil Physical. Malleability. The foil is a new shape of the same metal.
  • an ice cube floats in water Physical. Density, which is mass divided by volume. Ice floats because it is the less dense of the two.
  • copper can be drawn into wire Physical. Ductility. Pulling a metal into wire changes its shape only.
  • copper conducts electricity Physical. Electrical conductivity. A current passes through, and the copper is unchanged afterward.
  • diamond is very hard Physical. Hardness. No natural material is harder than diamond.
  • glass is brittle Physical. Brittleness. A broken pane is in pieces, but every piece is still glass.
  • gold is a shiny yellow metal Physical. Luster and color. Both are seen by looking, and the gold stays gold.
  • honey is thicker than water Physical. Viscosity, the scientific word for the thickness of a liquid.
  • ice melts at 0 degrees C Physical. Melting point. The ice becomes liquid water and can be frozen again.
  • mercury is a liquid metal Physical. State at room temperature. Mercury is the only metallic element that is a liquid then.
  • salt dissolves in water Physical. Solubility. Let the water evaporate and the salt is there again.
  • sulfur is a yellow solid Physical. Color and state at room temperature, both seen at a glance.
  • water boils at 100 degrees C Physical. Boiling point. Steam is still water, in another state.
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Chemical property 14

  • baking soda fizzes in vinegar Chemical. Reactivity with an acid. The fizz is carbon dioxide, a gas that was not there before.
  • carbon monoxide is poisonous Chemical. Toxicity, which is counted among the chemical properties.
  • copper turns green outdoors Chemical. Reactivity with air and rain. The green layer on a copper roof is a patina, a set of new copper compounds.
  • gasoline is flammable Chemical. Flammability. It shows only when the gasoline burns, and burning turns a fuel into other substances.
  • gold resists corrosion Chemical. Chemical stability. Few elements react less than gold does, and not reacting is a chemical property too.
  • helium does not burn Chemical. Flammability, answered with a no. Helium is an inert gas.
  • iron rusts in damp air Chemical. The ability to rust. Rust is an oxide of iron, a new substance made from iron, oxygen and water.
  • limestone bubbles in acid Chemical. Reactivity with an acid. A drop of dilute acid is a field test for limestone.
  • magnesium burns brightly Chemical. Combustibility. Magnesium burning in air gives a brilliant white light.
  • potassium reacts with air Chemical. Reactivity with oxygen. Freshly cut potassium is coated white within seconds.
  • silver tarnishes black Chemical. The ability to tarnish. The black film is silver sulfide, made when silver meets sulfur compounds in the air.
  • sodium reacts with water Chemical. Reactivity with water. All the metals of sodium's group react with it and give off heat.
  • stainless steel resists rust Chemical. Resistance to corrosion. The chromium in the steel is what gives it.
  • wood can burn Chemical. Combustibility. Wood reacts with the oxygen of the air when it is heated enough.

How this list was compiled: Lines written for this site on 2026-10-15. The rule that sorts them was checked that day: a chemical property becomes evident during or after a chemical reaction and cannot be found just by viewing or touching the substance, and a physical property can be discerned without changing what the substance is (the English Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/, whose text is under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license: the articles Chemical property, with its examples flammability, combustibility, toxicity, chemical stability, the ability to corrode and acidity; Physical property, whose list has boiling point, brittleness, color, density, ductility, electrical conductivity, hardness, luster, malleability, melting point, solubility, thermal conductivity and viscosity; and Physical change). The same rule, with melting point, boiling point, electrical conductivity and appearance at room temperature as physical and reacting with air, rusting and acidity as chemical, is on BBC Bitesize, Physical and chemical properties (https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zs7qqfr), which also gives 0 and 100 degrees C for pure water, brittle glass, metal pans and stainless steel. The fact in each line was checked against the Wikipedia article on its substance or property: Gold, Water, Copper, Sodium chloride, Glass, Diamond, Ice, Density, Aluminium foil, Aluminium, Ductility, Viscosity, Honey, Sulfur, Mercury (element), Gasoline, Combustibility and flammability, Combustion, Rust, Sodium bicarbonate, Silver, Tarnish, Sodium, Patina, Stainless steel, Carbon monoxide, Magnesium, Limestone, Potassium and Helium. Licence: own work

How it works

This physical and chemical properties worksheet prints ten facts about everyday substances, such as glass is brittle and iron rusts in damp air, above two headings: Physical property and Chemical property. Page 2 holds the answers.

Read the full guide

Physical and chemical properties vocabulary worksheet

Under the tool, each line names the property it shows. The physical ones are luster, color, boiling point, melting point, electrical and thermal conductivity, solubility, brittleness, hardness, density, malleability, ductility and viscosity. The chemical ones are flammability, combustibility, reactivity, toxicity, chemical stability and the ability to rust or tarnish.

One substance, both kinds

Copper is on the list three times. That it conducts electricity and can be drawn into wire are physical properties; that it turns green outdoors is a chemical one. Gold has a line under each heading too, and iron that rusts stands beside stainless steel that resists rust.

Questions and answers

What is the difference between a physical and a chemical property?

A physical property can be seen or measured while the substance stays what it is: color, density, melting point. A chemical property shows only when the substance reacts and becomes something new: flammability, the ability to rust.

Is flammability a physical or chemical property?

Chemical. The only way to show that something is flammable is to burn it, and burning is a chemical reaction: the fuel combines with oxygen and ends up as other substances.

Is density a physical or chemical property?

Physical. A density is found by dividing the mass of a sample by its volume. Both can be measured, and measuring them leaves the sample exactly what it was.

Is boiling point a physical or chemical property?

Physical. Boiling changes the state of a substance and nothing else. Cool the vapor and the same liquid comes back: steam condenses to water.

Is there a physical and chemical properties worksheet for 5th grade?

Yes, this one. The sheet carries no grade, and every line is a short fact in plain words, such as honey is thicker than water or wood can burn.

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