Intensive and Extensive Properties

Intensive and extensive properties are one of the most crucial chemistry topics, as they are a type of physical property of matter. In 1917, Richard C. Tolman initially coined the term intensive and extensive. This article provides study material on Intensive and extensive properties in detail along with other related topics. Let’s get started with the study material notes on Intensive and extensive properties!

What are Intensive properties

Intensive properties are defined as bulk properties, which mainly means that these properties are not dependent on the matter that is present. Some of the common examples of intensive properties include pressure (P), temperature (T), and density (d).

Intensive properties examples

Intensive properties are the properties of matter that are not dependent on the quantity or size of the matter in any way. Common examples of intensive properties include temperatures, melting and boiling point, density, colour, etc. These never change with any change in quantity or the size of matter.

Introduction to extensive properties

An extensive property of the system can be defined as the system primarily dependent on the amount or the size of the matter in a system if the property value of the system is the same as the total sum of the values for the parts of the system. Such properties are referred to as extensive properties. The common examples of extensive properties include volume, mass, and energy.

Extensive properties examples

The extensive properties of the matter are those properties that are highly dependent on the quantity or size of the matter, such as length, mass, volume, weight. If there are any changes in the quantity or the size of the matter, their value automatically changes. Imagine there are two different boxes that are made up of similar material. One has the capacity of ten litres, whereas the other can hold four litres. The box with the capacity of four litres will comparatively have a lower amount of matter when compared to the amount of matter of the other box.

Difference between Intensive and extensive properties

Difference between Intensive and Extensive properties
INTENSIVE	EXTENSIVE
Independent property	Dependent property
Size does not change	Size changes
It cannot be computed	It can be computed
Can be easily identified	Cannot be easily identified
Examples of intensive properties include colour, ductility, melting point, conductivity, pressure, lustre, boiling point, odour, density, freezing point, etc	Examples of extensive properties include weight, length, mass, volume

Other examples of properties

The flow of heat energy is mainly controlled by the concept of Thermodynamics. However, this flow of energy and its transformation are mainly governed by Thermodynamics principles. It mostly depends on the matter and several factors that determine the matter state. There are certain parameters on which the properties of thermodynamics are dependent. These are further classified as path functions and state functions. Let’s have a look-

1. Path Function – The path function is a general parameter that is mainly dependent on the path taken by the system for reaching the current state. A common example of it is the work completed by the frictional force.
2. State Function – Also known as the state variables, the state function includes parameters mainly dependent on the system’s current state rather than the path chosen for reaching its state. A common example of it is the temperature of the system.

Introduction of The Zeroth law of Thermodynamics

The Zeroth law of thermodynamics can be defined as when a body ‘X’ along with another body ‘Y’ in thermal equilibrium with the body ‘Z’, then body ‘Y’ and ‘Z’ will also be in thermal equilibrium with one another. The Zeroth law of thermodynamics is majorly based on temperature measurement. However, there are several different ways to state the temperature measurement. In simple terms, it can be described as, “Systems that are in thermal equilibrium exist at the same temperature.” According to the Zeroth law of thermodynamics, the temperature is worth measuring as it predicts whether the heat will be transferred between different objects or not. This is exactly how the objects tend to interact with one another. No matter if the two objects are in physical contact with each other or not, the heat can still travel between those. However, the Zeroth law of thermodynamics states that if the systems are in thermal equilibrium, the heat flow cannot occur.

Conclusion

With this, we come to the end of our discussion about Intensive and extensive properties. This article covered multiple areas of intensive and extensive properties, including the definition of Intensive and extensive properties. It states that the intensive properties are bulk properties, which means they are not dependent on the matter. However, extensive properties are those that are highly dependent on the quantity or size of the matter. We also looked at the Zeroth law of thermodynamics, which plays a significant role in the measurement of temperature. We hope this study material notes on intensive and extensive properties must have helped attain a better understanding of Intensive and extensive properties and other related topics of Intensive and extensive properties study material.