Water

• biologically important properties of water


  • A metabolite
  • A solvent
  • High specific heat capacity
  • Large latent heat of vaporisation
  • Cohesion between water molecules
• Property of water: water is a solvent

  This is so metabollic reactions can occur

  which allows for the transport of substances
• Property of water: water is a metabolite

  Water is a metabolite in condensation, hydrolysis, photosynthesis, respiration, making it important for organisms
• Property of water: water has a large latent heat of vaporisation

  provides a cooling effect through evaporation
• Property of water: water has a high specific heat capacity

  • High specific heat capacity can help to buffer changes in temperature
  • This means that water can gain and lose a lot of heat without changing temperature
  • And can maintain enzyme activity
• Property of water: Cohesion between water molecules

  • supports columns of water in plants
  • produces surface tension supporting small organisms
• Why is water a polar molecule

  • Oxygen is more electronegative than Hydrogen so can attract a pair of electrons towards itself in a covalent bond more strongly
  • Forms slightly negatively charged oxygen and slightly positvely charged hydrogen