Biological molecules

• water as a metabolite

  involved in condensation and hydrolysis reactions

  used as a reactant in photosynthesis
• water as a solvent

  medium for metabolic reactions as it allows ionic compounds to seperate

  found in the cytoplasm of cells and in the blood carrying glucose to respiring cells

  it also reacts with CO2 in the blood to form HCO3- which is a way of transporting carbon dioxide as a waste metabolite
• high specific heat capacity of water

  buffers temperature change to provide a stable aquatic environment
• latent heat of vaporization of water

  high

  allows water to act as a coolant

  for example: sweating, animals panting, and transpiration by plants
• cohesion of water

  strong hydrogen bonds between water molecules creates a continuous collum of water that supports it moving up the xylem in plants
• ice is less dense than water

  the orientation of hydrogen bonds between molecules means that they are pushed apart when frozen lowering the density

  this creates an insulating layer that maintains aquatic habitats in the winter
• monomer

  a small unit that makes up larger molecules
• polymers

  larger molecules made up of many repeating monomer units
• serial dilution equation

  ( desired conc / stock conc ) x volume wanted