Biochem - Water & PH

B.
WATER AND pH
1. Water
 It is the most important and abundant inorganic compound in all living
systems.
 Nearly all the body’s chemical reactions occur in a watery medium.
Water has many properties that make it such an indispensable
compound for life.
B. WATER AND pH
1. Water
 The important property of water is its polarity—the uneven sharing of
valence electrons that confers a partial negative charge near the one
oxygen atom and two partial positive charges near the two hydrogen
atoms in a water molecule.
a. Water as a Solvent
 Solution—composed of solvent and solute.
 Solvent—dissolves the solute.
 Solute—being dissolved by the solvent.
Example, your sweat is a dilute solution of_____

Sweat is a dilute solution of water
(the solvent) plus small amounts of
salts (the solutes).
 The versatility of water as a solvent for ionized or polar substances is
due to its polar covalent bonds and its bent shape, which allows each
water molecule to interact with several neighboring ions or
molecules.
 Solutes that are charged or contain polar covalent bonds are
hydrophilic (hydro- = water; -philic = loving),which means they
dissolve easily in water.
• Common examples of
hydrophilic solutes are sugar and
salt
• Molecules that contain mainly nonpolar covalent bonds, by contrast,
are hydrophobic (-phobic = fearing). They are not very water-soluble.
• Examples of hydrophobic compounds
include animal fats and vegetable oils.
To understand the dissolving power of water, consider what happens
when a crystal of a salt such as sodium chloride (NaCl) is placed in
water. The electronegative oxygen atom in water molecules attracts the
sodium ions (Na+), and the electropositive hydrogen atoms in water
molecules attract the chloride ions (Cl-).
Soon, water molecules surround and separate Na+ and Cl-ions from
each other at the surface of the crystal, breaking the ionic bonds that
held NaCl together. The water molecules surrounding the ions also
lessen the chance that Na+ and Cl- will come together and re-form an
ionic bond.
The ability of water to form solutions is essential to health and survival.
Because water can dissolve so many different substances, it is an ideal
medium for metabolic reactions. Water enables dissolved reactants to
collide and form products.
Water also dissolves waste products, which allows them to be flushed
out of the body in the urine
b. Water in Chemical Reactions
Water serves as the medium for most chemical reactions in the body
and participates as a reactant or product in certain reactions.
During digestion, for example, decomposition reactions break down
large nutrient molecules into smaller molecules by the addition of
water molecules. This type of reaction is called hydrolysis (hıˉ-DROL-i-
sis; -lysis = to loosen or break apart). Hydrolysis reactions enable
dietary nutrients to be absorbed into the body.
• By contrast, when two smaller molecules join to form a larger
molecule in a dehydration synthesis reaction (de- = from, down, or
out; hydra- = water), a water molecule is one of the products formed.
c. Thermal Properties of Water
In comparison to most substances, water can absorb or release a
relatively large amount of heat with only a modest change in its own
temperature. For this reason, water is said to have a high heat capacity.
The reason for this property is the large number of hydrogen bonds in
water. As water absorbs heat energy, some of the energy is used to
break hydrogen bonds. Less energy is then left over to increase the
motion of water molecules, which would increase the water’s
temperature.
c. Thermal Properties of Water
The high heat capacity of water is the reason it is used in automobile
radiators; it cools the engine by absorbing heat without its own
temperature rising to an unacceptably high level. The large amount of
body water has a similar effect: It lessens the impact of environmental
temperature changes, helping to maintain body temperature
homeostasis.
Water also requires a large amount of heat to change from a liquid to a
gas. Its heat of vaporization is high. As water evaporates from the
surface of the skin, it removes a large quantity of heat, providing an
important cooling mechanism.
d. Water as Lubricant
Water is a major component of mucus and other lubricating fluids
throughout the body. Lubrication is especially necessary in the chest
(pleural and pericardial cavities) and abdomen (peritoneal cavity),
where internal organs touch and slide over one another.
d. Water as Lubricant
Inside the gastrointestinal tract, mucus and
other watery secretions moisten foods, which
aids their smooth passage through the digestive
system.

Biochem - Water & PH

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Biochem - Water & PH

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Biochem - Water & PH

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

B.

Example, your sweat is a dilute solution of_____

You might also like