The Difference Between Intensive and Extensive Properties

The Difference Between Intensive and Extensive Properties Intensive properties and extensive properties are types of physical properties of matter. The terms intensive and extensive were first described by physical chemist and physicist Richard C. Tolman in 1917. Heres a look at what intensive and extensive properties are, examples of them, and how to tell them apart. Intensive Properties Intensive properties are bulk properties, which means they do not depend on the amount of matter that is present. Examples of intensive properties include: Boiling PointDensityState of MatterColorMelting PointOdorTemperatureRefractive IndexLusterHardnessDuctilityMalleability Intensive properties can be used to help identify a sample because these characteristics do not depend on the amount of sample, nor do they change according to conditions. Extensive Properties Extensive properties do depend on the amount of matter that is present. An extensive property is considered additive for subsystems. Examples of extensive properties include: VolumeMassSizeWeightLength The ratio between two extensive properties is an intensive property. For example, mass and volume are extensive properties, but their ratio (density) is an intensive property of matter. While extensive properties are great for describing a sample, they arent very helpful in identifying it because they can change according to sample size or conditions. Way to Tell Intensive and Extensive Properties Apart One easy way to tell whether a physical property is intensive or extensive is to take two identical samples of a substance and put them together. If this doubles the property (e.g., twice the mass, twice as long), its an extensive property. If the property is unchanged by altering the sample size, its an intensive property.

Entelodon (Killer Pig) - Facts and Figures

Entelodon (Killer Pig) - Facts and Figures Name: Entelodon (Greek for perfect teeth); pronounced en-TELL-oh-don; also known as the Killer Pig Habitat: Plains of Eurasia Historical Epoch: Late Eocene-Middle Oligocene (37-27 million years ago) Size and Weight: About 10 feet long and 1,000 pounds Diet: Omnivorous Distinguishing Characteristics: Large head with prominent snout; warts on cheeks About Entelodon (Killer Pig) Plucked from prehistoric obscurity thanks to cameos on nature documentaries like Walking with Beasts and Prehistoric Predators, Entelodon has been immortalized as the Killer Pig, even though (like modern pigs) this megafauna mammal ate plants as well as meat. Entelodon was about the size of a cow, and it had a noticeably (and hugely) pig-like face, with wart-like, bone-supported wattles on its cheeks and an extended snout studded with dangerous-looking teeth. Like many mammals of the Eocene epochonly 30 million or so years after the dinosaurs went extinctEntelodon also had an unusually small brain for its size, and was probably not the brightest omnivore of its Eurasian habitat. Somewhat confusingly, Enteledon has lent its name to an entire family of megafauna mammals, the entelodonts, which also includes the slightly smaller Daeodon of North America. Entelodonts, in their turn, were preyed on by creodonts, a family of thickly built, vaguely wolf-like mammals (which have left no close living descendants) typified by Hyaenodon and Sarkastodon. To show how difficult it can be to classify Eocene mammals, its now believed that Entelodon may have been more closely related to modern hippopotamuses, or even whales, than to modern pigs!