biological molecules (water) Flashcards
what molecules is water made from?
hydrogen and oxygen
what charge does hydrogen have?
slightly positive
what charge does oxygen have?
slightly negative
why is water a polar molecule?
slightly positive and slightly negative
what is hydrogen bonding?
where slightly negatively charged oxygen atoms attract slightly positively charged hydrogen atoms
how does water work as a metabolite?
hydrolysis reactions require a molecule of water
condensation reactions release a molecule of water
what does a high latent heat of vaporisation mean?
takes a lot of energy to break the hydrogen bonds between water molecules- lot of energy used up when water evaporates
why is a high latent heat of vaporisation beneficial for organisms?
can use water loss through evaporation to cool down, without losing too much water
what does a high specific heat capacity mean?
hydrogen bonds between water molecules can absorb a lot of energy- takes a lot of energy to heat water
why is water having a high specific heat capacity beneficial?
water can buffer changes in temperatures- good habitat as temperature under water is more stable, and water inside organisms remains at a stable tempeature, so they can maintain a constant body temperature
how does water act as a solvent?
water is polar- so positive and negative ends of ions/water are attracted to eachother, so ions get surrounded by water molecules and dissolve
what is cohesion?
the attraction between molecules of the same type
why is water cohesive?
water molecules are polar
why is strong cohesion good for water?
enables water to flow so it can transport substances, water has a high surface tension
