1B.4 Water

• why is water useful in metabolism?


  • it is essential for reactions e.g. hydrolysis.• it is the medium in which wll metabolic reactions take place.
• why is water considered a polar molecule?

  oxygen is more electronegative as it has a greater nuclear charge (more protons) so the shared electron pair sit slightly closer to the oxygen atom causing it to be slighly delta negative and the hydrogen delta positive.
• what does high latent heat of vaporisation mean?

  it requires a lot of energy to evaporate.
• name 5 properties of water.

  • metabolite.• high latent heat of vaporisation.• high SHC. • solvent.• cohesion.
• what two physical characteristics provide water with its most useful properties?

  • polarity. • hydrogen bonds that form between delta positive hydrogens and delta negative oxygens on surrounding molecules.
• why is waters high latent heat of vaporisation useful?

  helps organisms cook down without losing too much water as lots of thermal energy is used to change the state and evaporate a small amount of water.
• describe the structure of water.

  2 hydrogen atoms each covalently bonded to an oxygen atom.
• why is water useful as a solvent?

  polar molecules can dissociate ionic(charged) compounds or form colloids which help in transportation.
• why is waters high cohesion useful?

  • it helps water flow therefore aiding transportation. • allows small organisms to walk on water.
• what does high specific heat capacity mean?

  it requires alot of energy to increase 1Kg of water by 1 degree.
• why is waters high specific heat capacity useful?

  it buffers temperature to provide stable conditons and prevent enzymes from denaturing.