What are the differences between Chemical and Physical changes?

Crushing a can

Is crushing a can an example of a physical or chemical change? A physical change is a change that affects the form of a substance, but not its chemical composition. A chemical change is a change of a material into one or more new materials that have different properties. Lets find out!

All you will need a can. Empty out the liquid inside so it won’t go gushing everywhere when you crush the can.

Then you need to smash the can upright with something or your foot.

When I crushed the can the size and the shape changed. You can see that the original can’s height was 10.5 cm and width was 5 cm. The crushed can’s height was 3 cm and the width stayed the same. These different heights show that the can changed size. The substance that the can was made of also did not change. I know this because the color of the can was silver before and after the experiment so the color did not change. Since the chemical composition of the can did not change, only the form of the aluminum changed, the experiment is not a chemical change but a physical change.

Heating sugar to make caramel

Is heating sugar to make caramel a physical or chemical change? A physical change is a change that affects the form of a substance, but not its chemical composition. A chemical change is a change of a material into one or more new materials that have different properties. Lets find out!

You will need some sugar (I used brown sugar) and a spoon. First put set the stove at low-medium. Then take your spoon mostly full of sugar and place it right on top of the stove.

Soon the sugar should be brown and liquid. The liquid should be thick because it is caramel.

When I first felt the sugar it felt like sand. It was also a little colder than room temperature. When I put it on the stove the sugar started to come together. Then I saw a bubble. It was dark brown. Then when the bubble popped some dark brown thick liquid that began to spread. Then the rest of the sugar started to turn dark brown. Soon the all the sugar started turning into a thick brown liquid. When I felt the caramel after it cooled it was very hard. Before the experiment the sugar was light brown then after the sugar was heated it turned dark brown so the color did change. The texture of the sugar also changed after I heated it. The hardness of the sugar after became harder than it was before. Bubbles also formed which is a sign of a chemical change. Also you can’t make caramel back to regular sugar so heating sugar to make caramel is a chemical change.

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