Physical Properties of Ionic Compounds

What are physical properties?

Physical properties are properties that can be recorded without changing the substance. For example, the color of an ionic solid can be recorded without changing the substance at all. The melting point, boiling point and density are other common physical properties. They can be obtained without chemically changing the compound.

Ionic compounds in general will have characteristic physical properties. Characteristic properties are those that help you identify the compound as ionic. In other words, a characteristic property of an ionic compound would be a property that almost all ionic compounds would display.