What Is an Intensive Property

An intensive property is a property of matter that does not change as the amount of matter changes. It is a bulk property, which means it is a physical property that is not dependent on the size or mass of a sample. In contrast, an extensive property is one that does depend on sample size. Examples of extensive properties include mass and volume. The ratio of two extensive properties, however, is an intensive property (e.g., density is mass per unit volume). Examples of Intensive Properties Examples of intensive properties include: DensitySpecific GravitySpecific HeatTemperatureHardnessRefractive IndexBoiling PointConcentrationPressureSpecific VolumeChemical PotentialColorMolality