Intensive vs. Extensive

[Samantha Melin 2E]

Would enthalpy be considered an intensive or extensive property? Or are these terms not applicable?

[Emily Nguyen 3L]

I believe enthalpy is an extensive property because its value depends on the mass of the system. The greater the mass, the more heat it can hold/release.

[Alexander Moroz 1B]

Agreed! Enthalpy is sort of like the total heat content of a system so if the system changes in mass/quantity, the heat content of the system will change too. It depends on mass like all extensive properties do: energy, volume, etc.

[SofiaMammaro-1K]

An extensive property is one that depends on the amount of material present. For example, mass is an extensive property because if you double the amount of material, the mass doubles. An intensive property is one that does not depend on the amount of material present. Examples of intensive properties are temperature
T and pressure P. Enthalpy is a measure of heat content, so the greater the mass of any substance, the greater the amount of heat that it can hold at any particular temperature and pressure.