What is the difference between Extensive and Intensive Properties?

Some people tend to become confused with the differences between extensive and intensive properties. Extensive properties are those that rely on the amount of matter that is being measured. A couple of examples of extensive properties are mass and volume. Intensive properties are known to not rely on the amount of matter that is present. A couple of examples of intensive properties are color and density.

There are a lot of physical properties that can be measured easily. There is no need to change the chemical substance of the identity anymore to get the accurate measurement that may be needed at the present time. The intensive property will also serve as the ratio between two extensive properties.

There are many differences between extensive and intensive properties. An extensive property is one in which it changes depending upon the size or amount of material it affects. An intensive property does not change due to the amount or size of the material. The intensive properties really don’t change; they remain the same. The extensive properties do change.

Intensive properties will have the same results test after test whereas the extensive properties will have different results test after test. Some examples of intensive properties include color, smell, and boiling points. Some examples of extensive properties include mass, length and height. If you think about height, it changes with size. That is, the measurement gets larger when someone grows taller. Colors do not change with size.