STRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES OF

WATER

Read pages 1 -7 in Biology Unit 1 for CAPE

Examinations
 OBJECTIVES

• BY THE END OF THIS LECTURE AND READING THE PAGES IN THE

REQUIRED TEXT YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO DISCUSS HOW THE
STRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES OF WATER RELATE TO THE ROLE THAT
WATER PLAYS AS A MEDIUM OF LIFE.
• All living organisms are dependent on water.
• It is a major component of all cells, making up between 70 – 90% of
the cell’s mass.
• Hence the human body is about 60 - 70% water.
 BACKGROUND TO UNDERSTANDING THE
STRUCTURE OF WATER
• All matter is made up of atoms.
• Atoms are composed of
-protons – positively charged particles
-neutrons – neutral particles
-electrons – negatively charged particles
Protons and neutrons are located in the nucleus. Electrons are found
in orbitals or shells surrounding the nucleus.
ATOMIC STRUCTURE

5
 STRUCTURE OF A WATER MOLECULE
• Made of two hydrogen atoms covalently
bonded to one oxygen atom.
• A covalent bond is an electron-sharing
bond.
• The single electron of each hydrogen atom
is shared with an oxygen atom which has
six electrons in its outermost shell.

• The sharing of electron is not equal,

making water polar.
 STRUCTURE OF A WATER MOLECULE
• The structure of water is the basis for its
unique properties.

• The polarity of water molecules results in

hydrogen bonding.

• Hydrogen bonds are weak attractions

between the partially negative oxygen of
one water molecule and the partially
positive hydrogen of a different water
molecule.

• Hydrogen bonds can form between water

molecules or between water and another
charged molecule. Every water molecule is
hydrogen bonded to its 4 nearest
neighbours.
 STATES OF WATER
• Water can be found as a solid, liquid or gas.
• In the solid state, ice, the molecules of water
have very little kinetic energy; they vibrate
continuously but remain in fixed positions.
• In the liquid state, the molecules have more
kinetic energy, moving around past each
other, forming fleeting hydrogen bonds with
each other.
• In the vapour state, the molecules are far
apart, scarcely interacting with each other at
all.
 DENSITY OF WATER
• Density is the mass of the material in a given volume (i.e. the measure of
compactness of the material)
• Ice is less dense than liquid water and so it floats.
• Hydrogen bonding is responsible for this unique property of water.
• The maximum density of water occurs at 4°C.
• As the temperature of water drops below 4°C, the molecules must move
slightly apart from each other to maintain the maximum number of
hydrogen bonds in a stable structure.
• At 0°C, the freezing point of water, this creates an open latticework (see
image). Thus water as a solid takes up more volume than water as a
liquid (i.e. ice is less dense than liquid water)
 DENSITY OF WATER – HOW IS THIS
IMPORTANT?
• The ability of ice to float on liquid water is important for aquatic living
organisms.
• If ice sank, than eventually all ponds, lakes and even oceans would freeze
solid, making life as we know it impossible on Earth.
• The layer of ice at the surface insulates the water below it from further
temperature changes. This water remains at 4°C and stays liquid,
providing an environment in which living organisms can continue to
survive.
• Changes in density of water as its temperature changes are the main
cause of ocean currents and upwellings, which help to maintain the
circulation of nutrients in seas and oceans.
 SPECIFIC HEAT CAPACITY
• The specific heat of a substance is defined as the amount of heat that must be
absorbed or lost for 1g of that substance to change its temperature by 1°C.
• Temperature of water relates to the amount of kinetic energy possessed by the
water molecules.
• As heat energy is added to water, a lot of the energy is used to break the hydrogen
bonds between the water molecules, so less heat energy is available to raise the
temperature of the water.
• Water therefore requires a lot of heating in order to significantly increase its
temperature.
• Hence water has a high specific heat capacity.
• The specific heat capacity of water is 4.2 Jg -1°C-1.
• For organisms that live in water, it means that the temperature of their external
environment is relatively stable.
 LATENT HEAT OF VAPORISATION
• Heat of vaporisation is the quantity of heat a liquid must absorb for 1g of
it to be converted from the liquid to the gaseous state.
• In liquid water, even well below its boiling point, some of the individual
molecules have greater kinetic energy than others. These may have
enough energy to escape from the surface of the liquid to form water
vapour. This is called evaporation.
• As a liquid evaporates, the surface of the liquid that remains behind cools
down. This evaporative cooling occurs because the hottest molecules,
those with the greatest kinetic energy, are the most likely to leave as gas.
• In order for a water molecule to break loose from its fellow molecules to
form a gas, the hydrogen bonds have to be broken.
• Water has a high latent heat of vaporisation.
 LATENT HEAT OF FUSION

• Water requires a lot of energy to change from a solid to a liquid.

• Water must also lose a lot of energy to change from liquid to solid.
• The latent heat associated with melting a solid or freezing a liquid is
called the heat of fusion.
• Water has a high latent heat of fusion.
• This reduces the tendency of water freezing inside cells.
 SOLVENT PROPERTIES OF WATER
• Water is an excellent
solvent, capable of
dissolving ionic
compounds (like
sodium chloride) and
some covalent
compounds (like
glucose, amino acids
and some proteins).
This is vital for living
organisms since many
reactions can only be
done in aqueous
environment.
SOLVENT PROPERTIES OF WATER
COHESION, ADHESION AND SURFACE TENSION
• Cohesion: water molecules stick to other
water molecules by hydrogen bonding
• Adhesion: water molecules stick to other
polar molecules by hydrogen bonding

Surface tension: a phenomenon in which the

surface of the water, where the water is in
contact with the air, acts like a thin elastic sheet
due to the attractive forces between water
molecules that pull downwards on the molecules
at the surface, resulting in the surface molecules
packing more tightly together.
 QUESTION

water mercury

Why is the meniscus of the liquid in

the capillary tubes different?
Summary of the physical properties of water and
significance for living things
 SUMMARY
• Water molecules have dipoles, which cause hydrogen bonds to form between
them. This gives water a high specific heat capacity, a high latent heat of
vaporisation, and a high latent heat of fusion.
• Water is most dense at 4°C, which ensures that a body of water freezes from the
top down, and that there is usually liquid water below the ice.
• Water is a good solvent for small molecules with electrical charges on them, which
enables it to provide a suitable medium for metabolic reactions to take place, and
to transport substances in solution from one part of an organism’s body to another.
• Hydrogen bonding means that water is relatively dense and viscous, has high
cohesion and high surface tension.
• Pure water has a pH of 7 and is transparent.
 QUESTIONS
1. The bonds that are broken when water vaporises are: (a) ionic bonds
(b) bonds between water molecules (c) bonds between atoms within
individual water molecules (d) polar covalent bonds (e) nonpolar
covalent bonds
2. Explain how the freezing of water can crack boulders.
3. Explain the popular adage, “It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity.”
4. In a tall tree, water in thin tubes within the trunk is pulled upward by
evaporation from the leaves. What keeps the water molecules at the
bottom of the tree moving?
5. Why is it unlikely that two neighbouring water molecules would be
arranged like this? H
H
O
O
H
H
THE END