Examples of Physical Changes

Dr. Helmenstine holds a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences and is a science writer, educator, and consultant. She has taught science courses at the high school, college, and graduate levels.

Updated on May 05, 2024

Physical changes involve states of matter and energy. They occur when substances are mixed but don't chemically react. As a result, no new substance is created during a physical change, although the matter takes a different form. The size, shape, and color of matter may change.

There are several telltale indications you may be witnessing a physical change. See below for examples of common physical changes, as well as a description and examples of chemical changes.

How to Identify a Physical Change

Physical changes are usually reversible, especially if it's a phase change. For example, if you freeze water into an ice cube, you can melt it into the water again. This is one easy way to decide whether a change is physical or chemical.

To identify whether a change is physical or chemical, you can also ask yourself:

Is the change reversible? Not all physical changes are easy to reverse.
Was there a color change, bubble formation, or formation of a precipitate? These are all signs of a chemical change, not a physical change. However, note that the use of dyes, for example, will produce a color change but won't produce a chemical reaction, meaning this is still just a physical change.
Is the chemical identity of the end product the same as it was before the change? If the answer is yes, it's a physical change. If the answer is no, it's a chemical change.

Examples of Physical Changes

Remember, the appearance of matter changes in a physical change, but its chemical identity remains the same.

Crushing a can
Melting an ice cube
Boiling water
Mixing sand and water
Breaking a glass
Dissolving sugar and water
Shredding paper
Chopping wood
Mixing red and green marbles
Sublimation of dry ice
Crumpling a paper bag
Chopping an apple
Mixing salt and sand
Filling a candy bowl with different candies
Vaporizing liquid nitrogen
Mixing flour, salt, and sugar
Mixing water and oil
Melting solid sulfur into liquid sulfur. This is an interesting example since the state change does cause a color change, even though the chemical composition is the same before and after the change. Several nonmetals, such as oxygen and radon, change color as they change phase.

How to Identify a Chemical Change

Sometimes the easiest way to identify a physical change is to rule out the possibility of a chemical change. There may be several indications that a chemical reaction has occurred. Just remember it's possible for a substance to change color or temperature during a physical change.

Evolving bubbles or releasing gas
Absorbing or releasing heat
Changing color (with exceptions)
Releasing an odor
Inability to reverse the change
Precipitation of a solid from a liquid solution
Formation of a new chemical species. This is the best and surest indicator. A change in the chemical properties of the sample (such as its flammability or oxidation state) may indicate a chemical change.

Key Takeaways

During a physical change, no new substances are created—even if the initial and final substances appear different.
Common examples of physical changes include melting an ice cube, crumpling a paper bag, chopping wood, and boiling water.
Though a color change is a common indicator of a chemical change, there are exceptions to this rule. For example, some nonmetals change color as they change phases, but phase changes alone aren't chemical changes.

Cite this Article Your Citation

Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. "Examples of Physical Changes." ThoughtCo, May. 5, 2024, thoughtco.com/examples-of-physical-changes-608336. Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. (2024, May 5). Examples of Physical Changes. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/examples-of-physical-changes-608336 Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. "Examples of Physical Changes." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/examples-of-physical-changes-608336 (accessed September 6, 2024).

copy citation The Difference Between Intensive and Extensive Properties Chemical Properties of Matter Molarity Definition in Chemistry The Difference Between Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Mixtures What is the Difference Between Molarity and Molality? Chemistry Glassware Types, Names and Uses Fun and Interesting Chemistry Facts Table of Electrical Resistivity and Conductivity How to Draw a Lewis Structure Ionic vs. Covalent Bonds: How Are They Different? Acidic Solution Definition Examples of Polar and Nonpolar Molecules How to Calculate Density of a Gas What Is a Molecule? The Difference Between Control Group and Experimental Group The Visible Spectrum: Wavelengths and Colors

About Us
Advertise
Careers
Privacy Policy
Editorial Guidelines
Contact
Terms of Service
EU Privacy

ThoughtCo is part of the Dotdash Meredith publishing family.

We Care About Your Privacy

We and our 100 partners store and/or access information on a device, such as unique IDs in cookies to process personal data. You may accept or manage your choices by clicking below, including your right to object where legitimate interest is used, or at any time in the privacy policy page. These choices will be signaled to our partners and will not affect browsing data.

We and our partners process data to provide:

Store and/or access information on a device. Use limited data to select advertising. Create profiles for personalised advertising. Use profiles to select personalised advertising. Create profiles to personalise content. Use profiles to select personalised content. Measure advertising performance. Measure content performance. Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources. Develop and improve services. Use limited data to select content. List of Partners (vendors)