1.9 Water

Question 1

How do hydrogen bonds occur between water molecules?

Answer 1

• Water is a polar molecule
• Slightly negatively charged O atoms attract slightly positively charged H atoms of other water molecules

Question 2

What are some properties of water?

Answer 2

• High specific heat capacity so buffers changes in temperature
• Large latent heat of vapourisation so evaporation acts as effective cooling mechanism
• Solvent so allows transport of substances
• Metabolite so used in condensation/hydrolysis reactions
• Cohesive so supports columns of water