Water CH1

Water

Water is a medium for metabolic reactions and makes up about 65 -95% of the mass of many plants and animals. Water molecules are dipoles (This means it has one positively charged end and one negatively charged end but no overall charge). The charges are very small and are written as ∂^- and ∂⁺ respectively. Hydrogen bonds can form between the ∂^- of an oxygen atom of one molecule and ∂⁺ of the Hydrogen atom of another molecule. The hydrogen bonds are weak however the sheer number of them present in water means that the molecules are difficult to separate and gives water a wide range of physical properties vital to life.

Water has many properties that are essential for life to continue

• It is used as a solvent: Water is an excellent solvent because water molecules are dipoles, they attract charged particles such as ions and other molecules essential to life such as glucose. These then dissolve in water where chemical reactions can take place. Water acts as a transport medium. E.G in animals, plasma transports dissolved substances and in plants water transports minerals in the xylem and sucrose and amino acids in the…