Physical and Chemical Changes

1. Label each process as a physical or chemical change:

a. perfume evaporating on your skin
b. butter melting
c. wood rotting
d. charcoal heating a grill
e. autumn leaves changing color
f. a hot glass cracking when placed in cold water
g. melting copper metal
h. burning sugar
i. mixing sugar in water
j. digesting food
2. Which of the following would NOT be a physical change?
a. freezing water to make ice cubes
b. melting gold to make jewelry
c. burning gasoline in a lawnmower
d. boiling water for soup
e. tearing a piece of aluminum foil
3. Which of the following is NOT a physical change?
a. grating cheese
b. melting cheese
c. fermenting of cheese
d. mixing two cheeses in a bowl
4. Which are physical and which are chemical changes?
a. boil
b. burn (combustion)
c. condense
d. corrode
e. crumple
f. ferment
g. melt
h. rust
i. crush
j. freeze
k. oxidize
l. tarnish
m. explode
n. grind
o. rot
p. vaporize
q. photosynthesis
r. sublimation

5. If a certain mixture is homogeneous, you would properly conclude that the physical properties and the
composition:
a. are different from one part of the sample to another
b. vary smoothly from top to bottom of the sample
c. are the same in every small volume element from the sample
d. none of these
6. Label each process as a physical or chemical change:
a. Moth balls gradually vaporize in a closet
b. hydrofluoric acid attacks glass (used to etch glassware)
c. A chef making a sauce with brandy is able to burn off the alcohol from the brandy, leaving just the brandy
flavoring
d. Chlorine gas liquefies at -35 C under normal pressure
e. hydrogen burns in chlorine gas
7. Label each process as a physical or chemical change:
a. fogging a mirror with your breath
b. breaking a bone
c. mending a broken bone
d. burning paper
e. slicing potatoes for fries
f. mixing sugar with coffee
g. frying chicken
h. a nail rusting
i. paper ripping
j. wood burning
k. mixing water and food coloring
l. food molding (rotting)
m. writing on paper
n. dyeing fabric

Worksheet Answers - Physical and Chemical Changes

1. Label each process as a physical or chemical change:
a. perfume evaporating on your skin - physical
b. butter melting - physical
c. wood rotting - chemical
d. charcoal heating a grill - see below
e. autumn leaves changing color - chemical
f. a hot glass cracking when placed in cold water - physical
g. melting copper metal - physical [see (b) above]
h. burning sugar - chemical
i. mixing sugar in water - physical
j. digesting food - chemical

Part (d) of this question can be understood two ways: is it asking about the charcoal producing the heat or about
the metal grill getting hot? The metal grill getting hot is a physical change, the charcoal reacting with oxygen
(which produces the heat) is a chemical change.
2. Which of the following would NOT be a physical change?
a. freezing water to make ice cubes
b. melting gold to make jewelry
c. burning gasoline in a lawnmower - this one is NOT a physical change
d. boiling water for soup
e. tearing a piece of aluminum foil
In part (c) there actually is a physical change, in that the gasoline must first evaporate before it burns. However,
the question is asking about the burning, which is a chemical change. Burning does not include the physical
change of evaporation.
3. Which of the following is NOT a physical change?
a. grating cheese
b. melting cheese
c. fermenting of cheese - this one is NOT a physical change
d. mixing two cheeses in a bowl
4. Which are physical and which are chemical changes?
a. boil - physical
b. burn (combustion) - chemical
c. condense - physical
d. corrode - chemical
e. crumple - physical
f. ferment - chemical
g. melt - physical
h. rust - chemical
i. crush - physical
j. freeze - physical
k. oxidize - chemical
l. tarnish - chemical
m. explode - see comment below
n. grind - physical
o. rot - chemical
p. vaporize - physical
q. photosynthesis - chemical
r. sublimation - physical
Part (m) of this question can be understood two ways: does 'exposion' means the actual opening up of the
container (a bomb, for example) or does it refer to the chemical inside the bomb reacting? The exposion which
throws pieces of the bomb about is a physical change, the chemical reacting inside the bomb (which produces
the heat & pressure causing the bomb to shatter into pieces) is a chemical change.
5. If a certain mixture is homogeneous, you would properly conclude that the physical properties and the
composition:

a. are different from one part of the sample to another

b. vary smoothly from top to bottom of the sample
c. are the same in every small volume element from the sample - the correct answer
d. none of these
6. Label each process as a physical or chemical change:
a. Moth balls gradually vaporize in a closet - physical
b. hydrofluoric acid attacks glass (used to etch glassware) - chemical
c. A chef making a sauce with brandy is able to burn off the alcohol from the brandy, leaving just the brandy
flavoring - chemical
d. Chlorine gas liquefies at -35 C under normal pressure - physical
e. hydrogen burns in chlorine gas - chemical
Part (c) actually has a physical process in it. The alcohol must first evaporate, which is a physical change,
before it burns (the chemical change. The question explicitly uses the concept of burning, so answering this one
as both a physical and a chemical change (if asked on a test) would probably garner partial credit.
7. Label each process as a physical or chemical change:
a. fogging a mirror with your breath - physical
b. breaking a bone - physical
c. mending a broken bone - chemical
d. burning paper - chemical
e. slicing potatoes for fries - physical
f. mixing sugar with coffee - physical
g. frying chicken - chemical
h. a nail rusting - chemical
i. paper ripping - physical
j. wood burning - chemical
k. mixing water and food coloring - physical
l. food molding (rotting) - chemical
m. writing on paper - physical
n. dyeing fabric - see comment below
Part (n) of this question can be understood two ways: the dye can simply be absorbed by the fabric (this is a
physical change) or it can react chemically with the fabric (this is a chemical change). Depending on the fabric
and the dye involved, one or both processes may occur.

Separation Techniques Physical Methods.

1) Separating Funnel - for liquids that do not mix.
2) Distillation - for liquids that mix.
3) Filtration - for a solid that does not dissolve in a liquid.
4) Crystallisation - for a solid that dissolves in a liquid.
5) Chromatography for separating components of a mixture.
Two liquids which do not dissolve in each other are called immiscible.
The liquids are placed inside a separating funnel and a container put beneath.
The liquid with the lower density floats on top.

When the tap is opened, the liquid with the higher density starts to flow through the separating funnel into the
container. The tap is then closed just before the liquid with the lower density starts to flow through.
The liquid with the lower density can then be drained into a different containerto separate the two liquids.
Liquids which dissolve in each other can be separated by fractional distillation.
A solid which has not dissolved in a liquid can be separated by filtration.
A filter paper is placed inside a glass funnel and a container put beneath.

The solid remaining in the filter paper is called the residue.

The residue can be dried by spreading it out on the filter paper and allowing the liquid to evaporate.
The liquid which has passed through the filter paper is called the filtrate.
A solid that dissolves in a liquid can be separated by crystallisation.

Liquids which dissolve in each other are called miscible.

A liquid can be separated from a mixture of liquids in a solution by fractional distillation.

The solution is heated until it boils.

The liquid with the lowest boiling point boils first and becomes a vapour (gas).
The vapour is cooled in the condenser until the temperature falls below the boiling point when it condenses
back into a liquid which is collected in a container.
The collected liquid is called the distillate. It has been distilled.
The condenser has cold water running through a jacket around the outside to keep the temperature below the
boiling point of the vapour.
After the liquid with the lowest boiling point has been collected, the temperature of the remaining mixture will
rise to a new temperature when the liquid with the next lowest boiling point will boil and can be collected.
The process can be continued to separate all the liquids in the mixture.
Fractional distillation is used to separate the components of crude oil and to separate nitrogen and oxygen
from liquid air.
Liquids which do not mix are separated using a separating funnel.

A solid which has dissolved in a liquid (called a solution) can be separated by crystallisation.
The dissolved substance is called the solute.
The liquid used for dissolving is called the solvent
The solution is warmed in an open container, allowing the solvent to evaporate, leaving a saturated solution.
A solution which has as much solid dissolved in it as it can possibly contain, is called a saturated solution.
As the saturated solution is allowed to cool, the solid will come out of the solution and crystalswill start to grow.
The crystals can then be collected and allowed to dry.
A solid that does not dissolve in a liquid can be separated by filtration.