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Exploring Water & Ice Water is a necessity and a critical factor in maintaining life as we know it. Around seventy percent of the globe is made up of water, and so is our bodies.

Water molecules have a unique structure that allows it to be capable of forming hydrogen bonds with other water molecules simultaneously. This unique structure provides the molecules to have different characteristics that allows life to exist. These characteristics include the following such as being a universal solvent, Cohesion and adhesion, high surface tension, high heat capacity, and changes in density.

Properties of Water

Now that the properties of water have been introduced, let's explain their importance.

1. Universal Solvent Universal Solvent meeans that many substances are able to dissolve in it. Water solvency has to deal with the polarity and hydrogen bonding ability of water molecules. When sodium chloride is placed in water, for example, the negative ends of the water molecules are attracted to the postively-charged sodium ions, and the postive ends of the water molevules are attracted to the negatively charged chloride ions. This attraction causes the sodium and chloride ions to break/dissociate in water.

The importance of this is that since human cells are mostly water, these solutions of ions and molecules allow chemical reactions to occur far more frequently. This is an importance feature as it allows organisms to respond to their environment.

2. Cohesion and Adhesion Hydrogen bonds in water cause water molecules to stick together, which is a property known as choesion. Polar bonds also give molecules an adhesive property (an adhesive property), or the ability to cling to other polar surfaces. Its significance is that water fills the internal transport systems of plants and animals. Because of the cohesive and adhesive properties, water allows for the efficient transport of nutrients and wastes within an organism.

3. High Surface Tension Water molevules at the surface are more strongly attracted to each other than to the air above, water molevules cling tightly to each other. The surface tension of water explains why it beads up on a waxy surfaces, and why water-striding insects are able to walk on the surface of the water.

4. High Heat Capacity Water has a high capacity for heat. This means that the many hydrogen bonds that link water molecules allows water to absorb large amounts of heat without the need to change its chemical state. For example, liquid to gas. This stabilizes the temperature of bodies of water such as lakes and oceans. This also plays an important role in the physiology of an organism. Since life is based on water, the temperature of water rises and falls slowly, living organisms are better able to maintain their normal internal temperatures, and are protected from rapid temperature changes.

5. Changes in Density The density of water is based on its temperature. Unlike many other compands which contract when they the configuration of the hydrogen bonds in water causes it to expand when it freezes. This expansion causes ice to have a lower density than liquid water, and therefore ice floats. If ice were more dense, it would sink and cause ponds and lakes to freeze solid, making life there impossible.

The significance of ice's ability to float is it also allows it to act as an insulator to protect the water below from freezing. This protects zquatic organisms so they may survive the winter.