Water

    Cards (7)

    • What is the structure of water?
      -two hydrogen atoms (+) + one oxygen atom (-)
      -dipolar molecule
    • Why's water a good solvent?

      -water's polar therefore attracts both positive and negative ions and molecules
      -can dissolve and transport many substances due to polarity and can be
      -some substances are hydrophobic (lipids) so can't be broken down by water
    • Why's water a good metabolite? 

      -makes up 60%-70% of our bodies
      -involved in reactions such as condensation, hydrolysis and photosynthesis
    • Why are water's cohesive properties helpful?

      -strong adhesion and cohesion due to hydrogen bonds helps with water flow
      ->allows columns of water instead of droplets to travel up xylem
      -creates high surface tension allowing small insects to live on top of ponds
    • How does water having a high specific heat capacity help?

      -lots of energy needed to raise the temperature by 1g by 1*c
      -takes a lot of energy to break hydrogen bonds
      -many aquatic habitats remain at stable temperatures
    • How does water having a high latent heat of vaporisation? 

      -takes lots of energy to evaporate 1g of water
      -living organisms use water evaporation as a cooling effect when we use too much energy leading to us sweating, taking the heat energy away
    • How's water a good habitat?
      -stable environment as it doesn't evaporate or change temperature easily
      -when water freezes, hydrogen bonds are held further apart making, making it less dense when it's a solid, rather than a liquid
      -when ice freezes on a pond/lake, the ice creates an insulating layer