Difference between Intensive Properties and Extensive Properties

Difference between Intensive Properties and Extensive Properties

Examples

Intensive Properties: Some examples of intensive properties include

 melting point, boiling point, density, conductivity, resistivity, temperature, pressure and any physical property etc.

Extensive Properties: Some examples of extensive properties include volume, mass, kinetic energy, potential energy, work etc.

Definition:

Intensive Properties

Intensive properties are physical properties that do not depend on the amount of matter. This means these properties are the same even if we measure them with different amounts of matter.

Extensive Properties

Extensive properties are physical properties that depend on the amount of matter. This means these properties can be changed when the amount or the size of the matter is changed. However, these are physical properties that can be observed without changing the chemical composition of matter.

Descriptions:

melting point and Boiling point 

These are intensive properties. Regardless the amount or the size of the substance, the value obtained for the melting point or boiling point of that substance is the same.

For example,         

the boiling point of water is 100^oC. Even if we increase the temperature of 100 mL of water, it will boil at 100^oC.  If we increase the temperature of 500 mL of water, it will also boil at 100^oC.

Temperature

When considering the temperature of a substance, the temperature at one point is similar to the temperature at a different point of the same substance.

Since these properties do not depend on the size or the amount of matter, they can be used in the identification of a substance. For example, we can get a rough idea about an unknown sample by measuring the melting point and boiling point of that sample and then comparing with a book value.

Density

Density is also an intensive property. The density of a substance is its mass per unit volume. Therefore, no matter how much amount we have, we only measure the mass per unit volume. But this is true only for homogenous systems.

The color of a substance is the same for any amount of matter.

Volume

The volume of a substance is different for different amounts.

NOTE:

 The ratio of any extensive property gives us an intensive property.

Example

                     Density = mass/volume

Whereas mass and volume is an extensive property

difference between cvs and resume(also visit) 

Difference between Intensive Properties and Extensive Properties