Which property is commonly used to describe an extensive property?

• A. Mass
• B. Colour
• C. Temperature
• D. Density

Answer: (A)

Extensive properties depend on the amount of matter present. Mass fits this idea perfectly because it scales with how much material you have: add more substance and the mass increases, and when you combine samples, the total mass is the sum of the parts. This additive, amount-dependent nature is what makes mass a textbook example of an extensive property.

The other choices describe properties that don’t depend on amount. Temperature is about how hot or cold the sample is and stays the same for a given condition, regardless of how much material you have. Density is mass per volume, which remains the same for a substance under the same conditions, so it’s an intensive property. Colour is also an intrinsic characteristic that doesn’t change with how much material you have, assuming a uniform sample.

So mass is the property that illustrates an extensive property.