Specific Properties
Specific properties of material are derived from other intensive and extensive properties of that material. For example, the density of water is an intensive property and can be derived from measurements of the mass of a water volume (an extensive property) divided by the volume (another extensive property). Also heat capacity, which is an extensive property of a system can be derived from heat capacity, Cp, and the mass of the system. Dividing these extensive properties gives the specific heat capacity, cp, which is an intensive property.
Specific properties are often used in reference tables as a means of recording material data in a manner that is independent of size or mass. They are very useful for making comparisons about one attribute while cancelling out the effect of variations in another attribute.
