The Extraordinary Properties of Water

What are
the
Properties
of Water?
 Properties of Water
• Polar molecule
• Cohesion and
adhesion
• High specific heat
• Density – greatest
at 4oC
• Universal solvent of
life
WATER MOLECULE
A water molecule (H2O), is made of three
atoms --- one oxygen and two hydrogen.
The atoms are covalently bonded.

H
O
 Water is Polar
• In each water molecule, the oxygen atom
tends to have more electrons surrounding
it.
• The oxygen thus has a small negative
charge
• The hydrogens have a small positive
charge
• Causes the water to be POLAR
• However, Water is neutral (equal number
of e- and p+) --- Zero Net Charge
• Water has a variety of unusual
properties because of attractions
between these polar molecules.

– The slightly negative regions of one

molecule are attracted to the slightly
positive regions of nearby molecules,
forming a hydrogen bond.
– Each water molecule
can form hydrogen
bonds with up to
four neighbors.
Fig. 3.1
Copyright © 2002 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Hydrogen Bonds Exist Between
Water Molecules
• Formed between a highly
Electronegative atom of
a polar molecule and a
Hydrogen
• One hydrogen bond is
weak , but many
hydrogen bonds are
strong
Interaction Between Water
Molecules
Negative Oxygen end of one water molecule is
attracted to the Positive Hydrogen end of another
water molecule to form a HYDROGEN BOND
 HYDROGEN BONDS
• Hold water molecules • Extraordinary Properties
together that are a result of
• Each water molecule hydrogen bonds.
can form a maximum – Cohesive behavior
of 4 hydrogen bonds – Resists changes in
temperature
• The hydrogen bonds
– High heat of vaporization
joining water
– Expands when it freezes
molecules are weak,
– Versatile solvent
about 1/20th as
strong as covalent
bonds.
• They form, break,
and reform with
great frequency
 Properties of Water
• At sea level, pure water boils at
100 °C and freezes at 0 °C.

• The boiling temperature of water

decreases at higher altitudes (lower
atmospheric pressure).

• For this reason, an egg will take

longer to boil at higher altitudes
 Cohesion
• Attraction between particles of the
same substance ( why water is
attracted to itself)
• Results in Surface tension (a measure
of the strength of water’s surface)
• Produces a surface film on water that
allows insects to walk on the surface
of water
Cohesion …

Helps insects walk across

water
• Surface tension, a measure of the
force necessary to stretch or break the
surface of a liquid, is related to
cohesion.
– Water has a greater surface tension than most
other liquids because hydrogen bonds among
surface water molecules resist stretching or
breaking the surface.
– Water behaves as if
covered by an invisible
film.
– Some animals can stand,
walk, or run on water
without breaking the
Fig. 3.3
surface.
Copyright © 2002 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
 Cohesion of water molecules
Allows water to flow – think blood, water in xylem, etc
 Adhesion
• Attraction between two different
substances.
• Water will make hydrogen bonds with other
surfaces such as glass, soil, plant tissues,
and cotton.
• Capillary action-water molecules will “tow”
each other along when in a thin glass tube.
• Example: transpiration process which plants
and trees remove water from the soil, and
paper towels soak up water.
Adhesion Causes Capillary
Action

Which gives water the

ability to “climb”
structures
 Organisms Depend on Cohesion
Hydrogen bonds hold the substance
together, a phenomenon called
• Cohesion is responsible for the
cohesion
transport of the water column in
plants
• Cohesion among water molecules
plays a key role in the transport
of water against gravity in plants
• Adhesion, clinging
of one substance to
another, contributes
too, as water adheres
to the wall of the
vessels.
Adhesion Also Causes Water to
…

Attach to a
silken spider
Form spheres &
web
hold onto plant
leaves
ADHESION and COHESION …
 High Specific Heat
• Amount of heat needed to raise or
lower 1g of a substance 1° C.

• Water resists temperature change,

both for heating and cooling.

• Water can absorb or release large

amounts of heat energy with little
change in actual temperature.
 Specific Heat is the amount of heat that must
be absorbed or lost for one gram of a
substance to change its temperature by 1oC.
Three-fourths of the earth is
covered by water. The
water serves as a large heat
sink responsible for:
1. Prevention of temperature
fluctuations that are outside
the range suitable for life.
2. Coastal areas having a mild
climate
3. A stable marine environment
Moderates Temperatures on Earth
Water stabilizes air temperatures by absorbing heat
from warmer air and releasing heat to cooler air.
Water can absorb or release relatively large amounts
of heat with only a slight change in its own
temperature.
Celsius Scale at Sea Level • What is kinetic energy?
• Heat?
100oC Water boils
• Temperature?
37oC Human body • Calorie?
temperature
• What is the difference in
23oC Room temperature cal and Cal, J & kJ?
• What is specific heat?
0oC Water freezes
 High Heat of Vaporization

• Amount of energy to convert 1g or

a substance from a liquid to a gas

• In order for water to evaporate,

hydrogen bonds must be broken.

• As water evaporates, it removes a

lot of heat with it.
 High Heat of Vaporization

• Water's heat of vaporization is 540

cal/g.
• In order for water to evaporate,
each gram must GAIN 540 calories
(temperature doesn’t change ---
100oC).
• As water evaporates, it removes a
lot of heat with it (cooling effect).
Evaporative Cooling
• The cooling of a
surface occurs when
the liquid evaporates
• This is responsible
for:
– Moderating earth’s
climate
– Stabilizes
temperature in aquatic
ecosystems
– Preventing organisms
from overheating
• Water vapor forms a nd
global ‘‘blanket” which helps to
keep the Earth warm.
• Heat radiated from the sun
warmed surface of the earth is
absorbed and held
by the vapor.
Water is Less Dense as a
Solid
• Ice is less dense as a solid than as a
liquid (ice floats)
• Liquid water has hydrogen bonds that
are constantly being broken and
reformed.
• Frozen water forms a crystal-like
lattice whereby molecules are set at
fixed distances.
Water is Less Dense as a
Solid
•Which is ice and which is water?
Water is Less Dense as a
Solid
Water Ice
 Density of Water
• Most dense at 4oC
• Contracts until 4oC
• Expands from 4oC to 0oC

The density of water:

1. Prevents water from freezing from the bottom up.
2. Ice forms on the surface first—the freezing of the
water releases heat to the water below creating
insulation.
3. Makes transition between seasons less abrupt.
4. Animals can stay alive beneath ice.
 Homeostasis
• Ability to maintain a steady state
despite changing conditions
• Water is important to this process
because:
a. Makes a good insulator
b. Resists temperature change
c. Universal solvent
d. Coolant
e. Ice protects against temperature
extremes (insulates frozen lakes)
 Solvent for Life
• Solution
– Solute
– solvent
• Aqueous solution
• Hydrophilic
– Ionic compounds
dissolve in water
– Polar molecules
(generally) are water
soluble
• Hydrophobic
– Nonpolar compounds
 Solutions & Suspensions
• Water is usually part of a
mixture.
• There are two types of mixtures:
–Solutions
–Suspensions
 Solution
• Ionic compounds disperse as ions in
water
• Evenly distributed
• SOLUTE
– Substance that is being dissolved
• SOLVENT
– Substance into which the solute
dissolves
Solution
 Suspensions
• Substances that
don’t dissolve but
separate into tiny
pieces.
• Water keeps the
pieces suspended
so they don’t
settle out.
 Acids, Bases and pH
One water molecule in 550 million
naturally dissociates into a Hydrogen
Ion (H+) and a Hydroxide Ion (OH-)

-
H2O  H+ + OH
Hydrogen Ion Hydroxide Ion
Acid Base
 The pH Scale
• Indicates the concentration of H+
ions
• Ranges from 0 – 14
• pH of 7 is neutral
+
• pH 0 up to 7 is acid … H
• pH above 7 – 14 is basic… OH-
• Each pH unit represents a factor of
10X change in concentration
• pH 3 is 10 x 10 x 10 (1000)
stronger than a pH of 6
 Acids
• Strong
Acids
have a pH
of 1-3
• Produce
lots of
H+ ions
 Bases
• Strong
Bases have
a pH of 11
to 14
• Contain
lots of OH-
ions and
fewer H+
ions
 Human biology and pH
• Your blood maintains a pH of 7.35 –
7.45 (slightly basic)
– Balance is maintained by buffers in blood,
breathing, and urinating
 and … Water is transparent
We can’t see through walls because electrons in
the structure absorb visible light. Some light
reflects off the wall, but no light gets through.
Radio waves – the same stuff as visible light
with a longer wavelength – go through. This is
because electrons in a wall don’t absorb or
reflect radio waves, due to their shape.
Electrons in water act in a similar way to visible
light so they don’t absorb or reflect most of
the light. Instead they allow it to pass through
relatively unimpeded, absorbing wavelengths like
infrared and reflecting invisible UV.
Water is truly
AMAZING!