Water

Water

Functions of water 

• Water is a reactant in chemical reactions, like photosynthesis or hydrolysis. 
• Water transports substances, it is a liquid, solvent and very cohesive so it can transport all sorts of materials.
• Water helps with temperature control because it has a high specific heat capacity and a high latent heat of evaporation. 
• Water is a habitat and because it helps with temperature control, is a solent and becomes less dense when it freezes means many organisms can survive and reproduce in it. 

Polarity of water

• Water consists of two hydrogen atoms and an oxygen atom. 
• The shared negative hydrogen is pulled towards the oxygen leaving the hydrogen atom slightly positive. 
• The unshared electrons on the oxygen atom make it slightly negative. 
• This makes water slightly polar. 

Hydrogen Bonding

• Hydrogen bonds are weak intermolecular forces between the slightly positive charge on a hydrogen atom and a slightly negative charge on an oxygen atom from another molecule. 
• Hydrogen bonds are responsible for most of waters properties. 

Properties of Water

Water has a high specific heat capacity:

The energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 gram of a substance by…