What does the term 'property' primarily refer to in a scientific context?

In a scientific context, the term 'property' primarily refers to a physical characteristic of an object. This includes attributes such as color, texture, density, state of matter (solid, liquid, gas), boiling point, and hardness. These properties help scientists and researchers describe and categorize materials, understand their behavior, and predict how they will interact with other substances. For example, knowing the melting point of a substance is a critical property that can indicate how it will behave under different temperatures.

The other options, while related to science, do not capture the broad definition of 'property' as effectively. A chemical reaction refers specifically to the process in which substances transform into new substances, rather than describing them. An object's mass is a specific quantitative measure of matter but does not encompass all physical characteristics. An environmental factor influences systems and processes but isn't a direct property of an individual object.