Properties of Water

The Molecule That Supports All of Life

• Water - biological medium on Earth

• All living organisms require water more than

any other substance

• Most cells in water - cells are ~70–95% water

• The abundance of water is the main reason the

Earth is habitable
The polarity of water molecules results
in hydrogen bonding

• Water is a polar molecule: opposite ends have

opposite charges

• Polarity - hydrogen bonds with each other

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Bohr Model Ball-and-Stick Model

+
+
– +
104.5
8p
8n +
–

–
+ –
+

a. b.

Space-Filling Model

+

–
+

c.
 Hydrogen Bonds
• Cohesion – polarity of water allows water molecules to
be attracted to one another

• Attraction produces hydrogen bonds

• Responsible for many of water’s important physical

properties

5
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Hydrogen atom
Water molecule
+

Hydrogen bond –

a. Oxygen atom

Hydrogen atom

Hydrogen bond
+

–

An organic molecule
6
b. Oxygen atom
Fig. 3-2

–
Hydrogen
+ bond
H

O
–
+ H
– +
–
+
Why is it unlikely that two neighbouring water
molecules would be arranged like this?
Adhesion polarity and hydrogen bonding adhering to living and non-living
surfaces

Six emergent properties of water

1. Cohesion – water 2. Adhesion – water
molecules stick to other molecules stick to other
water molecules by polar molecules by
hydrogen bonding hydrogen bonding

Capillarity is the ability of a

liquid to flow in narrow spaces
Surface tension is a measure of
without the assistance of, or
how hard it is to break the
even in opposition to, external
surface of a liquid
forces like gravity. 10
Fig. 3-3

Adhesion (water molecules stick

to the walls of xylem vessels)

Water-conducting
cells

Cohesion (water
Direction molecules cling
of water to one another)
150 µm
movement
 3. High Specific Heat
• Hydrogen bonds:
– Heat is absorbed when hydrogen bonds break
– Heat is released when hydrogen bonds form

• Water can absorb or release a large amount of heat with

only a slight change in its own temperature

• The high specific heat of water minimizes temperature

fluctuations to within limits that permit life
 4. High Heat Of Vaporization
• Evaporation - transformation from liquid to gas

• Heat of vaporization is the heat a liquid must absorb for 1 g to

be converted to gas

• Hydrogen bonds:
– Heat is absorbed when hydrogen bonds break

• Evaporative cooling - as a liquid evaporates, its remaining

surface cools

• Evaporative cooling of water helps stabilize temperatures in

organisms & bodies of water
 5. Lower Density Of Water

• Ice floats in liquid water because hydrogen bonds

in ice are more “ordered,” making ice less dense

• If ice sank, all bodies of water would eventually

freeze solid, making life impossible on Earth

• Insulation of bodies of water by floating ice

Fig. 3-6

Hydrogen
bond
Ice Liquid water
Hydrogen bonds are stable Hydrogen bonds break and re-form
 6. The Solvent of Life
• A solvent is the dissolving agent of a solution

• An aqueous solution is one in which water is the

solvent

• Water is a versatile solvent due to its polarity,

which allows it to form hydrogen bonds easily
• Electrical attraction of water molecules can disrupt forces holding ions together

–
–
Water molecules Na+
–
–
–

Hydration shells

Na+

Cl–
+
+
Cl– +

+
+

Salt crystal
Fig. 3-8

(a) Lysozyme molecule in a (b) Lysozyme molecule (purple) in an aqueous (c) Ionic and polar regions
nonaqueous environment environment on the protein’s surface
attract water molecules.
 Hydrophilic & Hydrophobic Substances

• A hydrophilic substance is one that has an affinity

for water

• A hydrophobic substance is one that does not

have an affinity for water

• Oil molecules are hydrophobic because they have

relatively many nonpolar bonds
• Molecular mass is the sum of all masses of all atoms in a
molecule

• Numbers of molecules are usually measured in moles,

where 1 mole (mol) = 6.02 x 1023 molecules

• Avogadro’s number and the unit dalton were defined such

that 6.02 x 1023 daltons = 1 g

• Molarity (M) is the number of moles of solute per liter of

solution
 Acids and Bases - pH

• Acid
– Any substance that dissociates in water to increase
the [H+] (and lower the pH)

– The stronger an acid is, the more hydrogen ions it

produces and the lower its pH
• Base
– Substance that combines with H+ dissolved in water,
and thus lowers the [H+]
27
Fig. 3-UN5
0
Acidic
[H+] > [OH–]
Acids donate H+ in
aqueous solutions

Neutral
[H+] = [OH–] 7

Bases donate OH–

or accept H+ in
Basic aqueous solutions
[H+] < [OH–]
14
Fig. 3-UN2

• Though statistically rare, the dissociation of

water molecules has a great effect on organisms

H H
O H O O H O
H H H H
2H2O Hydronium Hydroxide
ion (H3O+) ion (OH–)

• Changes in concentrations of H+ and OH– can

drastically affect the chemistry of a cell
 Buffers
• Substance that resists changes in pH

• Act by
– Releasing hydrogen ions when a base is added
– Absorbing hydrogen ions when acid is added

• Overall effect of keeping [H+] relatively

constant

30
 Page 30
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–
+ +
+

Water Carbon Carbonic Bicarbonate Hydrogen

(H2O) + dioxide acid ion + ion
(CO2) (H2CO3) (HCO3–) (H+)
 • pH of body fluids
- narrow range

• Physiological buffer
- carbonic acid (in blood)

CO2(g) + H2O(l) <—-> H2CO3(aq) <—-> HCO3-(aq) + H+(aq)

1. when hydrogen ions are added to blood

H+ + HCO3- H2CO3
2. when hydroxide ions are added to blood

OH- + H2CO3 H+ + HCO3-