Water

Water (Importance)
▪ Makes up between 60-95% fresh mass of an organism.

▪ Water has unique properties because of its small size, its polarity &
hydrogen bonding.
▪ Polarity is uneven distribution of charge in a molecule
▪ Water is dipolar. One part is slightly positively charged while another
is slightly negatively charged.
▪ Water is dipolar because the oxygen atom has a greater electron-
attracting power than the H-atoms.
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▪ Only common substance to exist as a solid, liquid and gas
▪ Water is amphoteric-properties of an acid or a base, depending on the

pH of the solution that it is in;
▪ It readily produces both hydrogen and hydroxide ions (H+ and OH− )
▪ Bond angle and H-O length in water:
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▪ Liquid water has weak absorption bands at wavelengths of 750nm
which cause it to appear blue
▪ The molecules of water are constantly moving in relation to each

other, and the hydrogen bonds are continually breaking and
reforming at timescales faster than 200 femtoseconds (2×10−13
seconds).
▪ Hydrogen bonds are strong enough to create many of the peculiar
properties of water.
▪ Critical temperature and pressure of water are 647K and 22.064
Mpa
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Polarity and hydrogen bonding in water
▪ The structure has a bent molecular geometry.
▪ The oxygen atom also has two lone pairs of electrons.
▪ One effect ascribed to the lone pairs is that the H–O–H gas phase bend
angle is 104.48°
▪ 104.48° angle is smaller than the typical tetrahedral angle of 109.47°.
▪ The partial negative charges occupy more space than the partial
positive regions so the O-H bond angle is slightly compressed
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▪ Another consequence of water structure is polarity.
▪ Due to the difference in electronegativity, a bond dipole moment

points from each H to the O,
▪ This makes the oxygen partially negative and each hydrogen partially
positive.
▪ The charge differences cause water molecules to aggregate (the
relatively positive areas being attracted to the relatively negative
areas).
▪ This attraction,called hydrogen bonding, explains many of the
properties of water, such as its solvent properties
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Charge distribution around a water molecule (Bohr-and stick model)
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Bonding among water molecules (Bohr model showing hydrogen bonds
among water molecules)
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Biological significance of water
1. Solvent properties
▪ Dissolves many hydrophilic substances (water loving e.g. acids,
alcohols, salts). Non-polar substances (hydrophobic=water hating)
e.g. lipids are repelled by water.
▪ Importance: forms aqueous solutions inside cells where chemical
reactions take place. Water acts as a transport medium in organisms
e.g.in blood, phloem
2. High heat capacity
▪ Large increase in heat energy results in relatively small increase in
water temperature because heat energy is used 2 break Hydrogen
bonds of water.
▪ 4.1814 J/(g·K) at 25 °C second to ammonia
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▪Biochemical processes are less likely to be affected by extremes of
temp. Water provides constant environment
3. High heat of vaporization

▪ Measure of heat energy required to vaporise a liquid
▪ High heat of vaporization gives water a high boiling point.
▪ Heat is lost from a surface when water evaporates from it. This is
useful in cooling e.g. in sweating, panting & transpiration in plants.
4. High heat of fusion/enthalpy of fusion
▪ Latent heat of fusion is a measure of the heat energy required to melt a
solid (ice).
▪ 333.55 kJ/kg at 0 °C, only ammonia’s is higher
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▪ Water requires relatively large amount of heat to melt it. Water must
lose large heat to freeze.
▪ Cell contents (which have large volumes of water) & aquatic habitats
are slow to freeze in cold weather.
5. Density and freezing properties
▪ Floating of ice on water surface insulates water body.
▪ This allows aquatic life to survive even if the surface of a water body
is frozen
▪ Floating ice maintains circulation of gases & nutrients in a surface-
frozen water body.
▪ Density of water is about 1 gram per cubic centimetre (62 lb/cu ft).
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▪ As the temperature increases, the density rises to a
peak at 3.98 °C (39.16 °F) and then decreases
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▪ Observed effects are due to reduction of thermal motion with cooling
which allows water molecules
to form more hydrogen bonds that prevent the molecules from coming
close to each other.
▪ Below 4°C the breakage of hydrogen bonds due to low temp. allows
water molecules to pack close
▪ This tends to expand a liquid. Above 4°C water expands as the
temperature increases.
▪ Water near the boiling point is about 4% less dense than water at 4 °C
(39 °F).
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6. High surface tension and cohesion
▪ Cohesion forces are attractive forces among like m/cu
▪ Cohesion forces among water molecules create surface tension (surface
film at an air-water interface). They are about 5-10% the strength of
covalent bonds.
▪ Surface tension of water cause water to occupy least possible surface
area (a sphere).
▪ Importance: causes capillary action due to cohesive forces that enable
transport water in xylems.
▪ Pond skaters and insects can land & move on water.
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▪ If a paper clip is immersed in water, surface tension
prevents the clip from submerging and the water from overflowing
the glass edges.
▪ Water has an unusually high surface tension of of 71.99 n/m at
25 °C
▪ Caused by the strength of the hydrogen bonding between water
molecules.
7. Adhesion
Molecular forces between unlike molecules
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▪ On a clean/smooth glass the water may form a thin film because the
molecular forces between glass & water (adhesive forces) are stronger
than water’s cohesive forces.
▪ Cells and organelles, are kept inside cytoplasms because they have a strong
attraction to water.
▪ Important in preventing dehydration as a lot of energy is needed to dehydrate
hydrophilic surfaces—to remove adhesive forces, called hydration forces.
▪ Dehydration forces are very large but decrease rapidly over a nanometer or
less.
8. Water is difficult to compress
▪ Water acts as a skeleton (hydrostatic skeleton) in worms and other
invertebrates.
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▪ The compressibility of water is a function of pressure and
temperature.
▪ At 0°C, at the limit of zero pressure, the compressibility is

5.1×10−10 Pa−1.
▪ At the zero-pressure limit, the compressibility reaches a minimum of
4.4×10−10 Pa−1 around 45 °C before increasing again with increasing
temperature.
▪ As the pressure is increased, the compressibility decreases, being
3.9×10−10 Pa−1 at 0 °C and 100 megapascals (1,000 bar).
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9. Water is colourless and transparent
▪ Phytoplanktons and other aquatic plants can access
sunlight for photosynthesis.
10. Water is a reagent
▪ Used as a source of hydrogen in photosynthesis
▪ Used in hydrolysis reactions (breaks down food molecules during
digestion).
11. Water is a liquid at room temperature
▪ Provides liquid environments inside cells & aquatic organisms to live
in.
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12. Water has low viscosity (flows freely)
▪ Water molecules can slide easily over each other
▪ Water can flow through narrow vessels
▪ Watery solutions can act as lubricant (e.g. mucus allows food to move
peristatically down the gullet)
13. Water has high tensile strength
▪ Water columns do not break or pull apart easily
▪ Continuous column of water can be pulled all the way up the top of a
tree in xylem vessels during transpiration.
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14. Miscibility and condensation
▪ Water is miscible with liquids of high polarity such as ethanol and
acetone, whereas compounds with low polarity (e.g. oil) will tend to be
immiscible
▪ As a gas, water vapor is completely miscible with air. For example, if
the vapor’s partial pressure is 2% of atmospheric pressure and the air is
cooled from 25 °C, starting at about 22 °C water will start to condense,
▪ This is called the dew point. This creates fog or dew.
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Water

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Water (Importance)

▪ Makes up between 60-95% fresh mass of an organism.

▪ Water is amphoteric-properties of an acid or a base, depending on the

▪ The molecules of water are constantly moving in relation to each

▪ Due to the difference in electronegativity, a bond dipole moment

3. High heat of vaporization

▪ At 0°C, at the limit of zero pressure, the compressibility is

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