water

• water is used as a reactant in cells (photosynthesis and hydrolysis)
• water provides structural support in cells
• water keeps organisms cool to keep an optimum body temp
• water is made from one oxygen and two hydrogens
• water is a polar molecule. oxygen atomes are negativley charged. hydrogen atoms are positively charged
• hydrogen atom from one water molecule is attracted to the oxygen in another molecule. this is hydrogen bonding
• water's high heat capacity means it takes a long time to heat and cool. warm bloded animals use water to disperse heat evenly in their bodies
• high heat of vapourisation means that more energy is needed to evepourate liquid water due to the hydrogen bonding making it hard for water molecules to seperate
• water is used in many metabolic reactions (condensation and hydrolysis)
• the strong attraction between water molecules due to hydrogen bonds is called cohesion. this produes surrface tension when water meets air. (water forming droplets)
• ions and polar molecules can easily dissolve in water. this makes it a good solvent because its a polar molecule.