properties of water

• Water is a polar molecule due to the uneven distribution of charge within the molecule – the hydrogen atoms are more positive than the oxygen atom causing one end of the molecule to be more positive than the other. As a result hydrogen bonding between many water molecules can occur allowing them to stick together.
• water is a metabolite in metabolic reactions such as condensation and hydrolysis which are used in forming and breaking of chemical bonds
• water is a solvent allowing gases to readily diffuse as well as enzymes and waste products e.g. ammonia and urea.
• water has a high specific heat capacity. This is because water molecules stick together with hydrogen bonds meaning that a lot of energy is required to break these bonds. This helps to minimise temperature fluctuations in living things therefore it acts as a buffer.
• water has a high latent heat of vaporisation because the Hydrogen bonding means that it requires a lot of energy to evaporate 1 gram of water. Therefore evaporation of water provides a cooling effect with little water loss e.g. sweating
• water has strong cohesion between molecules enables effective transport of water in tube like the xylem. strong cohesion also allows insects to live on waters and hide from predators
• what is latent heat of vaporisation

  • energy absorbed by water to evaporate withought an increase in temperature