1.6 - Water

Question 1

Name the 5 properties of water that make it a useful molecule in biology

Answer 1

• useful metabolite
• useful solvent
• high specific heat capacity
• large latent heat of vaporisation
• cohesive

Question 2

Explain the advantage of water being a good metabolite

Answer 2

metabolite in reactions e.g condensation, hydrolysis

Question 3

Explain the advantage of water being a good solvent

Answer 3

metabolic reactions can occur and substances can be transported e.g gases can diffuse as well as enzymes and waste products like urea

Question 4

Explain the advantage of water having a high specific heat capacity

Answer 4

requires a lot of energy to overcome strong H bonds so buffers changes in temperature

Question 5

Explain the advantage of water having cohesive properties

Answer 5

• strong cohesion between H2O molecules supports columns of water
• cohesion between H2O molecules produces surface tension which supports organisms

Question 6

Explain the advantage of water having a large latent heat of vaporisation

Answer 6

provides a cooling effect through evaporation (water loss) e.g sweating