excellent solvent: as water is a polar molecule many ions will dissolve in it, allowing chemical reactions to occur, and as a transport medium
high specific heat capacity: a lot of energy is needed to raise the temperature of water, allowing it to be a suitable habitat and maintain optimal body temperature
high latent heat of vaporisation: only a little amount of water is requires to evaporate for the organism to lose a great amount of heat, provides a cooling effect
less dense when solid
high surface tension and cohesion
acts as a reagent
