Properties of Water

Adhesion benefits -

Adhesion allows plants to pull water from the roots to the tallest of leaves. This process of water adhering to (the plant) membrane is capillary action. Without capillary action, water would not be as effortless to transport against opposing forces.

How evaporative cooling occurs -

As bonds are broken, heat is released. Hydrogen bonds are broken, and water takes the released heat with evaporated molecules.

Cohesion benefits -

Cohesion causes the development of another important characteristic of water - high surface tension. The tendency of water molecules to bond with one another requires a considerable amount of energy to break compared to other liquids.

Evaporative cooling benefits -

Evaporative cooling allows the body to cool itself by sweating. When sweat gains enough kinetic energy to change into a gas, hydrogen bonds are broken and external body heat is taken with the evaporated molecules.

How specific heat is formed -

Heat is absorbed when bonds break, and because of the amount of energy necessary, water molecules hydrogen bonded to one another do not easily break and thus water does not easily absorb heat.

How heat of vaporization is formed -

Hydrogen bonds prevent water molecules from moving fast enough to change state of matter until a large amount of energy is attained.

Benefits of ice floating -

If ice did not float, whole bodies of water would freeze over. This would kill marine ecosystems and limit liquid water supply on Earth.

How cohesion occurs -

Oxygen's high electronegativity creates slight positive charge of the two hydrogen atoms and a slight negative charge of the oxygen atom. This polarity causes water molecules to be attracted to each other, creating hydrogen bonds and cohesion.

How adhesion occurs -

Similarly to cohesion, adhesion forms because of hydrogen bonding. The polarity of water creates slightly negative charge of the oxygen atom and slightly positive charges of the hydrogen atoms. These charges cause water to intrinsically attract to other charged surfaces.

How surface tension occurs -

Surface tension forms because of water's cohesive property which results from hydrogen bonding and water's polarity. In cohesion, water molecules bond together and require a substantial amount of energy to break thus creating a high surface tension.

Surface tension benefits -

Surface tension keeps billions of cells functional by preventing cell membranes from collapsing. Without surface tension, basic cellular processes would be impossible and nothing would be able to float. Small dust particles from the air that settle on bodies of water would sink, eventually killing marine organisms.

How does ice float -

Unlike other substances, water's solid state is less dense than its liquid state. As water cools, water molecules space out because of hydrogen bonding. A crystalline structure is formed with large air space between water molecules. This air and distance of molecules cause ice to be less dense and float.

Heat of vaporization benefits -

Water's high heat of vaporization prevents bodies of water from completely evaporating, creating a consistent amount of water available in an area.

Specific heat benefits -

Water's high specific heat create a natural temperature control that minimize fluctuation of temperatures to within limits that allow life.

Why water is a good solvent -

Water's polarity causes it to be a versatile solvent. The slightly negative charged oxygen and slightly positive charged hydrogen atoms are attracted to the dissolved molecule. Water creates a hydration shell around ionic compounds, dissociating the initial ionic bond of the solute. If any molecule has polar and ionic regions, water will dissolve the molecule.

Versatile solvent benefits -

Without water's versatility as a solvent, organisms would be unable to dissolve basic compounds to complex molecules. Life sustaining cellular functions would halt.

Specific heat

amount of heat that must be absorbed or lost for 1 g of that substance to change 1 degree C

Evaporative cooling

as a liquid evaporates, the remaining surface cools

7 amazing properties of water are...

cohesion/adhesion high surface tension high specific heat high heat of vaporization evaporative cooling ice floats versatile solvent

Heat of vaporization

heat a liquid must absorb for 1 g to be converted to a gas

Surface tension

measure of how hard it is to break the surface of a liquid

Cohesion

water molecules attraction to one another due to hydrogen bonding

Adhesion

water molecules attraction to other surfaces due to hydrogen bonding