Name: Jhanelle Dixon 12A(Biology) THE CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF WATER Water is a chemical substance with the

chemical formula H2O. Its molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at room temperature, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state, water vapor or steam. Water covers 70.9% of the Earth's surface,[1] and is vital for all known forms of life.[2]

The major chemical and physical properties of water are:

Water is a tasteless, odorless liquid at standard temperature and pressure. The color of water and ice is, intrinsically, a very slight blue hue, although water appears colorless in small quantities. Ice also appears colorless, and water vapor is essentially invisible as a gas.[11] Water is transparent, and thus aquatic plants can live within the water because sunlight can reach them. Only strong UV light is slightly absorbed. Since the water molecule is not linear and the oxygen atom has a higher electronegativity than hydrogen atoms, it carries a slight negative charge, whereas the hydrogen atoms are slightly positive. As a result, water is a polar molecule with an electrical dipole moment. Water also can form an unusually large number of intermolecular hydrogen bonds (four) for a molecule of its size. These factors lead to strong attractive forces between molecules of water, giving rise to water's high surface tension[12] and capillary forces. The capillary action refers to the tendency of water to move up a narrow tube against the force of gravity. This property is relied upon by all vascular plants, such as trees. Water is a good solvent and is often referred to as the universal solvent. Substances that dissolve in water, e.g., salts, sugars, acids, alkalis, and some gases especially oxygen, carbon dioxide (carbonation) are known as hydrophilic (water-loving) substances, while those that do not mix well with water (e.g., fats and oils), are known as hydrophobic (water-fearing) substances. All the major components in cells (proteins, DNA and polysaccharides) are also dissolved in water. Pure water has a low electrical conductivity, but this increases significantly with the dissolution of a small amount of ionic material such as sodium chloride.

The boiling point of water (and all other liquids) is dependent on the barometric pressure. For example, on the top of Mt. Everest water boils at 68 C (154 F), compared to 100 C (212 F) at sea level. Conversely, water deep in the ocean near geothermal vents can reach temperatures of hundreds of degrees and remain liquid. Water has the second highest molar specific heat capacity of any known substance, after ammonia, as well as a high heat of vaporization (40.65 kJmol1), both of which are a result of the extensive hydrogen bonding between its molecules. These two unusual properties allow water to moderate Earth's climate by buffering large fluctuations in temperature. The maximum density of water occurs at 3.98 C (39.16 F).[13] It has the anomalous property of becoming less dense, not more, when it is cooled down to its solid form, ice. It expands to occupy 9% greater volume in this solid state, which accounts for the fact of ice floating on liquid water. Water is miscible with many liquids, such as ethanol, in all proportions, forming a single homogeneous liquid. On the other hand, water and most oils are immiscible usually forming layers according to increasing density from the top. As a gas, water vapor is completely miscible with air. Water forms an azeotrope with many other solvents. Water can be split by electrolysis into hydrogen and oxygen. As an oxide of hydrogen, water is formed when hydrogen or hydrogen-containing compounds burn or react with oxygen or oxygen-containing compounds. Water is not a fuel, it is an end-product of the combustion of hydrogen. The energy required to split water into hydrogen and oxygen by electrolysis or any other means is greater than the energy released when the hydrogen and oxygen recombine.[14] Elements which are more electropositive than hydrogen such as lithium, sodium, calcium, potassium and caesium displace hydrogen from water, forming hydroxides. Being a flammable gas, the hydrogen given off is dangerous and the reaction of water with the more electropositive of these elements may be violently explosive.

Taste and odor Water can dissolve many different substances, giving it varying tastes and odors. Humans and other animals have developed senses which (more or less) enable them to evaluate the potability of water by avoiding water that is too salty or putrid. The taste advertised in spring water or mineral water derives from the minerals dissolved in it: pure H2O is tasteless and odorless. The

advertised purity of spring and mineral water refers to absence of toxins, pollutants and microbes.

Water is miscible with many liquids, such as ethanol, in all proportions, forming a single homogeneous liquid. On the other hand, water and most oils are immiscible usually forming layers according to increasing density from the top. As a gas, water vapor is completely miscible with air. Water forms an azeotrope with many other solvents. Water can be split by electrolysis into hydrogen and oxygen. As an oxide of hydrogen, water is formed when hydrogen or hydrogen-containing compounds burn or react with oxygen or oxygen-containing compounds. Water is not a fuel, it is an end-product of the combustion of hydrogen. The energy required to split water into hydrogen and oxygen by electrolysis or any other means is greater than the energy released when the hydrogen and oxygen recombine.[14] Elements which are more electropositive than hydrogen such as lithium, sodium, calcium, potassium and caesium displace hydrogen from water, forming hydroxides. Being a flammable gas, the hydrogen given off is dangerous and the reaction of water with the more electropositive of these elements may be violently explosive. Physical Properties of Water

All of waters unique physical properties are caused by waters polarity.

1. Cohesion: water molecules stick to each other. This is caused by hydrogen bonds that form between the slightly positive and negative ends of neighboring molecules. This is the reason why water is found in drops; perfect spheres. Its hard to imagine water behaving any other way. 2. Adhesion: water molecules stick to other surfaces 3. Surface Tension: water has the ability to support small objects. The hydrogen bonds between neighboring molecules cause a film to develop at the surface.

4. Water has a high boiling point. Water is one of the few substances that remain a liquid at such a large range of temperatures (O-100 C). A large amount of energy must be invested to overcome the hydrogen bonds in liquid water to change it to the gas phase. 5. Capillary Action: water has the ability to climb structures. Think about what happens when you stick the tip of a straw in a glass of water. 6. Ability to Dissolve: water is consider to be the universal solvent. More substances will dissolve in water than any other liquid. This includes other polar substances (such as sugar) and ionic compounds (such as salt). When a sugar crystal is placed in water, the slightly positive and negative ends of the water molecule attract the sugar molecules in the crystal (they are also polar) and pull them into solution. When an salt crystals are placed in water, the slightly positive and negative ends of the water molecules attract the ions in the crystal. The ionic bonds holding the sodium and chlorine ions together are broken and the ions are pulled into solution.

Aquatic life forms Main articles: Hydrobiology and Aquatic plant Some marine diatoms a key phytoplankton group Earth's surface waters are filled with life. The earliest life forms appeared in water; nearly all fish live exclusively in water, and there are many types of marine mammals, such as dolphins and whales. Some kinds of animals, such as amphibians, spend portions of their lives in water and portions on land. Plants such as kelp and algae grow in the water and are the basis for some underwater ecosystems. Plankton is generally the foundation of the ocean food chain. Aquatic vertebrates must obtain oxygen to survive, and they do so in various ways. Fish have gills instead of lungs, although some species of fish, such as the lungfish, have both. Marine mammals, such as dolphins, whales, otters, and seals need to surface periodically to breathe air. Some amphibians are able to absorb oxygen through their skin. Invertebrates exhibit a wide

range of modifications to survive in poorly oxygenated waters including breathing tubes (Diptera and some molluscs)and gills (Carcinus). However as invertebrate life evolved in an aquatic habitat most have little or new specialisation for respiration in water. Water is the medium of life. It is the most abundant compound found in all organisms. It varies from 65to 89 % in different organisms. Human tissues contain about 20 % water in bone cells and 85% in brain cells. Almost all the reactions of a cell occur in the presence of water. It also takes part in many biochemical reactions such as hydrolysis of macromolecules. It is also use as a raw material in photosynthesis. Following properties make it essential for life: Solvent property Water is a polar molecule. It is a best solvent for polar substances. When ionic substances are dissolved in water, they dissociate into positive and negative ions. When a salt, such as sodium chloride is put into water the negative end of the water molecules are attracted to the sodium ions and positive ends attracted to sodium ions. Heat capacity Water has ability of absorbing heat with minimum of change in its own temperature. Heat of vaporization Water has a high heat of vaporization. Water absorbs much heat as changes from liquid to gas. Protection Water is effective lubricant, which provides protection against damage resulting from friction e.g., tears protect the eye surface from the rubbering of eyelids. Water also forms a fluid cushion around organ that protect them from trauma. The Biological Importance Of Water Uploaded by FatJoe on Feb 12, 2006 The Biological Importance Of Water";"The Biological importance of Water Generally, the main biological importance of water is that life cannot exist without it. In fact on a percentage basis, the majority of any organism is comprised of water. Additionally, it is believed that life first originated in the bodies of water on the earth. The importance of water is seen in such third world countries as Kenya. Where the inhabitants are forced to drink water so dirty and contaminated that they know it might kill them. However they still drink it because its essential for life. The solvent properties of water are essential for living organisms to survive. The solubility of the substances needed by the organism depends on the ability of water to interact with them, and the polarity of water plays a critical role.

Water is an excellent solvent for ionic compounds such as sodium chloride. This is because cations like sodium ions become surrounded by a shell of water molecules each attracted to the positive charge by the slight negative charge on the water-oxygen atoms. Anions are hydrated through the attraction of the slight positive charge of water-hydrogen atoms to their negative charge. Substances, inparticular polar substances, which dissociate in water, are known as hydrophilic. Covalent compounds are harder for water to act as the solvent. Some molecules have strong intramolecular forces, which prevent their solution in water, but have charged surfaces, which attract a covering of water molecules. This covering ensures that the molecules remain dispersed throughout the water, rather than forming large aggregates, which could settle out. The dispersed particles and liquid around them collectively form a colloid. Such substances are sugar and alcohols. This is important because such molecules provide an osmotic effect, which helps to draw water into the blood vessels of living organisms. The fact that water is a very effective solvent allows all of the substances essential for the functioning of cells and organisms (glucose, amino acids, vitamins, fats, respiratory gases) are transported around in solution in the blood. This means that water acts as a transport medium for the polar solutes. It carries things needed by cells to cells and products from cells to other cells and waste products to be excreted. In mammals this happens in the blood and in plants it happens in the xylem and phloem. Similarly all metabolic reactions, catalysed by enzymes occur in solution. Chemicals can only react with each other if the molecules and ions are free to move and collide. If they were in solid form it wouldnt happen. Therefore all metabolic reactions and all of life is dependent on the solvent properties of water. The thermal properties of water are also of great biological importance. Water has a high specific heat capacity i.e. it takes a lot of energy to raise the temperature of water or conversely a lot of energy can be lost before the temperature of water starts to fall. This is crucial for living organisms, which need to maintain a particular temperature to optimise enzyme activity. The high water content of cells and tissues helps them to maintain a constant temperature. In this way water acts as a temperature buffer. This is vital in endothermic organisms. The hydrogen bonding between water molecules is responsible for the unique thermal properties of water. The individual hydrogen bonds are weak but collectively they make water very stable i.e. it remains a liquid over a huge range of temperatures.

Hydrogen bonding is responsible for the fact that ice is less dense than water and therefore floats. As the temperature decreases so does the kinetic energy of the molecules and they slow down. This allows each molecule to form the maximum number of hydrogen bonds with other water molecules. When this happens the water molecules spread out i.e. expand to accommodate more bond formations and because ice floats i.e. water freezes from the top to the bottom, aquatic organisms are able to survive below the surface of the ice. This is because the maximum density of water occurs at 4 . As the surface water gets colder it becomes more dense and sinks to the bottom and warmer water from below rise to the surface and begins to cool. If this continued, however, ponds would freeze from the bottom to the top killing many aquatic organisms. Instead what happens is that when the surface water gets colder than 4 its actually less dense so therefore stays closest to the surface. Therefore that layer of water gets colder and colder until it freezes, leaving aquatic organisms to live below the ice, which acts as an insulator. Conversely, when water molecules escape from the water surface during evaporation a lot of energy is released. As a result, evaporation (sweating) is an efficient cooling mechanism, allowing living organisms to maintain a constant body temperature. Water plays a very important role in other areas of life as well, such as, In plant cells water confers turgidity. This is essential in maintaining maximum leaf surface area. Therefore maximum light absorption takes place and consequently the rate of photosynthesis increases. If water is loss during hot conditions then wilting occurs, decreasing leaf surface area and photosynthesis, which highlights the significance of water to plants. Water is the means by which living organisms are able to survive. It is also the means by which organisms reproduce. Organisms, which employ sexual reproduction, use water to bring the male and female gametes together in the process of fertilisation. Therefore without water living organism would perish within minutes. Merely the fact that about 80% of the earth is covered with water shows its importance to living organisms. Water is essential in order for living organisms to function, in a lot of cases it acts as a home to aquatic animals, it allows organisms to reproduce and has certain solvent properties which allow processes such as respiration to occur in living organisms. The change of state of water allows aquatic animals to survive and other organisms in very hot conditions. Without water life would simply cease to exist and for that reason the biological properties of water is the most important thing to living organisms. The Unique Properties of Water

There are many unique properties of water, including the density of water the chemical and the physical properties of water. These are properties that water should not have according to what we presently know about chemistry and physics. These characteristics strongly point to water as the result of Intelligent Design.

The fact that God put certain processes in water to preserve our lakes for six thousand years cannot be taught in public schools. So after hundreds of billions of dollars wasted over the past thirty-six years, the scientific community has failed to restore all but a few lakes, while this author has restored over three thousand lakes, ponds, reservoirs and rivers by utilizing and accelerating these processes.

Water evaporates and goes up into the atmosphere to return to earth as rain thousands of miles away. As a result, water is distributed throughout the earth, producing life. A few of the billions of water molecules that Jesus drank at the well in Samaria two thousand years ago may be flowing in your bloodstream today.

At the time of creation, eight of what I call H2 hydrogen atoms in Chapter 9 combined to make the oxygen atom. When one more H2 hydrogen atom and the oxygen atom combined to make the water molecule, it was necessary for this molecule to possess at least twenty-one anomalies, properties that the laws of chemistry and physics says it should not have, in order to produce and perpetuate life. It follows that water is an extremely complex and important part of creation, and is probably the reason why Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as 'living water.' The more we learn about water, the more we realize that, as in Genesis 1, the Spirit of God still moves upon the face of the waters.

Anomalies of water:

1)

Water has an unusual ability to dissolve other substances.

2)

It has an anomalously high dielectric constant.

3)

It has the ability to form colloidal sols.

4)

The water molecule can form hydrogen bridges with other molecules.

These four anomalous properties give water the ability to transport minerals and waste products in water bodies, plants and animals. It gives water the ability to hold oxygen for animal life, and carbon dioxide for plant life.

The unique dipole moment of water establishes the enormous extent of permanent-polarized bonding (ionic bonding), and the angle between chemical bonds. These determine the water's ability to create the multitude of necessary molecules involved in every life process. For example, intra-molecular hydrogen bonding between the hydrogen atoms and oxygen atoms in N--H bonds enables molecules to fold into proteins having specific three-dimensional shapes essential for biological activity. If the angle between hydrogen atoms in the water molecule were different, there would be no complex life-giving molecules, and no life on earth.

5) The Directional Flow of Water: Water flows. When it rains, water comes down to the earth to nourish all life. It then flows towards streams and rivers to the sea where it evaporates and goes back into the atmosphere to repeat the cycle. The unidirectional flow of water in the evaporation/condensation cycle enables water all over the earth to continuously cleanse itself.

Because of the evaporation/condensation cycle that perpetuates life on earth, water tends to generally flow in the same direction. Because of this cycle, not only does man look up to heaven from whence comes his help, but so does virtually every other living organism. Many creatures were given fascinating features, such as anchors, moved by delicate threads spun out from their toes; or suction cups or sticky substances because water flows. Some organisms strain water by means of nets which they have grown or spun. Other organisms have special features of their mouths so they can obtain food with little expenditure of energy.

Because water flows, it is oxygenated and purified, and picks up nutrients for plant and animal life. Because water flows, currents carry fresh water to the equator and to the poles. Lakes near the equator have a higher oxygen demand, and accordingly are freshened by heavier rainfalls, hurricanes, typhoons, winds and wave action than lakes with lower oxygen demand.

6) Contraction at 3.9o C: Water anomalously contracts at 3.9oC. This causes an inversion and restoration of water bodies. It takes surface oxygen down to the bottom and raises bottom toxic gases to the surface to be neutralized and exhausted. Water is not supposed to be most dense as a liquid at 4o C, or about 40o F. All other liquids are most dense when they reach the freezing or solid state. Because of this anomaly, we have spring and fall turnover of lakes in the temperate climates.

Without spring and fall turnover, oxygenated surface water would not go to the bottom of lakes twice a year to enable life to exist at the lake bottom so that organic sediment could be biodegraded, bottom toxic gases brought up to the surface and removed, and fish to spawn and feed on bottom-feeding insects. Without this turnover, there would be no life in our lakes. In the sub-tropic and tropic zones on earth, spring and fall turnover is replaced by hurricanes, typhoons, monsoons and torrential rains (another coincidence or Intelligent Design?).

7) Expansion upon Freezing: Water is one of the only compounds that expands when it freezes. If it contracted as other compounds do, ice would sink and destroy life. Without this anomaly, ice would sink to the bottom of lakes, and the lakes in the temperate and arctic climates would be frozen from the bottom up.

8) Melting and Boiling Points: Water has an unusually high melting temperature of 0oC instead of 80oC. Its boiling temperature is +100oC, instead of about -70oC. Graphs of adjacent molecules in the Periodic Table of Elements show a straight line relationship of melting and boiling points far below 0oC. As examples, the hydrides of chlorine and fluorine have this same dipole characteristic, but fall smoothly on the graphs. 15

According to water's neighboring molecules in the Periodic Table of Elements, ice should melt somewhere around -100o C instead of 0o C and should boil at about -80o C instead of 100o C. If it did as it should, all water would be in the gaseous state and there would be no life on earth.

The water molecule has a unique dipolar nature. This enables hydrogen atoms that are bonded covalently to the oxygen atom of one molecule to bond to the oxygen atom of adjacent water molecules. These interactions must be disrupted to boil water and therefore causes its boiling point

to be much higher than it would be if there was no hydrogen bonding. Without this anomaly, there would be no liquid water or life on earth at earth temperatures.

9) Dielectric Strength: Water has an extremely high dielectric strength compared to other liquids. This gives water the ability to dissolve compounds that other liquids do not have. This peculiar nature of water permits all living organisms to transport minerals and waste products to the necessary parts of their bodies. If water could not readily dissolve compounds, there would be no life on earth.

10) Surface Tension: Water has a surface tension 2 4 times the surface tension of most organic liquids. Surface tension is highest for pure water. This enables insects called neuston to walk and live on the surface of water in low-nutrient water bodies, where they would starve if immersed in the water. This anomaly permits life when the water nutrients are too low to support life. This helps add nutrients to the subsurface water so that it will support life and insects and so that fish can then live below the surface.

Surface tension of water decreases when there are nutrients in the water. Water changes its surface tension to not support neuston when nutrients in the subsurface water can support life. This prevents further nutrient influx to the water from neuston and helps protect subsurface species from destruction by excessive nutrients.

11) Specific Heat of water: Another self-protective anomaly of water is its very high specific heat compared to other materials. Specific heat is the amount of heat required to raise its temperature. This means that it is more difficult to raise the temperature of water compared to other substances. For example, the specific heat (the amount of heat in calories required to raise the temperature of 1 gm of material 1 0 C) for water is 1.0, while the specific heat for rocks is only about 0.2. If water is frozen, its specific heat becomes half, so ice tends to warm easily. If it is liquid, it tends to be more difficult to raise the temperature. To boil, it requires a specific heat of 80. Because of this phenomenon, water tends to remain near the most desirable temperature for life on earth regardless of drastic changes in atmospheric temperatures. The anomalously high specific heat of water and the right quantity of water stabilizes earth's temperature.

12) Heat of Evaporation: Water has an extremely high heat of evaporation of water compared to other liquids. The extremely high heat of evaporation causes evaporative cooling to increase in

plants, animals and water bodies as temperature increases. The high evaporation rate cools plants and animals, protecting living organisms from over-heating. Its high evaporation and condensation rates match required rainfall for most of the earth.

13) Density: Warm water is less dense than cold water. Because of this, warm water floats on the surface of lakes, rivers and the oceans insulating the main portion of the water bodies from being over-heated by the sun and from killing its living organisms. In combination with its anomalously poor conductivity, the floating warm water insulates water bodies and living organisms against excessive heating.

14) Conductivity: Water is a poor conductor of heat compared to most other materials. The anomalously poor conductivity of water protects living organisms from freezing or boiling. This also protects the main portion of the water bodies from being over-heated by the sun and from killing its living organisms.

15) Osmosis and Capillary Force: Water also has the ability to pass through cell membranes and climb great heights in plants and trees through osmosis and capillary force. Osmotic pressure and capillary action enable water to climb hundreds of feet to the tops of the highest trees. The mystery of osmosis enables plants to feed, and plants and animals to carry on a multitude of life processes. Osmosis enables marine creatures to absorb fresh water in an increasing salt-water environment. Then an increase in cell pressure causes the osmosis to reverse itself and preserve the life of the creature. The same mysterious action takes place on a micro-scale within the bodies of all creatures.

16, 17 and 18) Viscosity, relaxation time and self-diffusion: Three more anomalies are an excessive decrease in viscosity, decrease in molecular relaxation time, and increased rate of self diffusion with temperature rises. These also protect plants, animals, and water bodies against excessive temperatures by improving circulation.

19) Carbon dioxide: Another characteristic of water is its ability to enable carbon dioxide to be released from bicarbonates to support plant life. Water enables carbon dioxide to attach to carbonates. It is then carried in the bloodstream to capillaries in the lungs and exhausted to keep animals alive. It can be carried to plants in soil and water to perpetuate plant life.

All of these anomalies of water protect not only the water bodies on the earth, but also protect the lives of all living organisms as it flows through the organisms performing its necessary lifegiving functions. This strange behavior of water was built into the protons and electrons that made water at the time of creation. These anomalies of water must have been planned by an extremely intelligent Creator, rather than by accident as perceived by the mainstream scientific community.

Water has many more characteristics that result in life. The unique physical properties of water, the chemistry of water, the density of water are anomalies that strongly suggest that an Infinite Intelligence created water. If only one of these functions were missing, there would be no life on earth.