Why is the tearing paper a physical change not a chemical change?

Answer 1

Tearing a piece of paper in half means a physical change because nothing happens to the paper, it's still paper although, if you set it on fire, that would be a chemical change because it is now changed into a different element. hope this helps d^^b

Answer 2

A chemical change is when you decompose a compound to make a new product, like H2O (water) is decomposed into Hydrogen and Oxygen. A physical change is when you just change it's state. For example - when you melt a block of ice it becomes water. When you heat water it becomes a gas. These states are still water, it's just that it's form has changed.

So when you tear notebook paper you are only changing it into smaller pieces of paper because no new products are formed.

Answer 3

Tearing paper is a physical change because the chemical composition of the paper remains the same before and after tearing. The paper is simply being physically separated into smaller pieces without any new substances being formed.

Answer 4

It is a physical change because it is changing in size and shape!But it is still paper so that's why its a physical change I hope this helped you.

Answer 5

Because you haven't altered the chemical nature of the paper. You have only changed the appearance.