Properties of Water

Question 1

Cohesion

Answer 1

the property in which one molecue is attracted to another molecule of the same type.
(hydrogen bonds are what keep water molecules together)

Question 2

Adhesion

Answer 2

the property of a molecule being attracted to other substances

Question 3

Capillary Action

Answer 3

when the forces of adhesion and cohesion (mostly adhesion) are stronger than gravity (to an extent) and can draw a substance/water in an upward direction.

• without this propert plants would not be able to draw in water properly

Question 4

Excellent Solvent

Answer 4

Water is known to be an excellent solvent as it can dissolve substances more than any other liquid but it can’t dissolve every substance.

When it gets attracted to this molecule the positive and negative charged sides of water get attracted to the opposite charges of the other molecule (positive being attracted to negative and negative being attracted to positive). They get heavily attracted to it to the point that it can separate the attractive forces that are holding the sodium and chloride together. Like the covalent bonds of water are much stronger than the ionic bonds.

• cooking would be very difficult without this property because a lot of important substances we use cannot be dissolved.

Question 5

High Specific Heat

Answer 5

Water has a high specific heat, which means that it needs more heat energy to increase its temperature.

• this propety helps control the rate in which air changes temperature, plus animals that live in the ocean would get to hot in the water.

Question 6

High Heat of Vaporization

Answer 6

the amount of energy to convert 1g or a substance from a liquid to a gas.

• The earth benefits from this high heat of vaporization as well. Water vapor forms a kind of global blanket which helps to keep the Earth warm. Heat radiated from the sun warms the surface of the earth and is absorbed and held in by the vapor.

Question 7

Lower Density as a Solid than as Liquid

Answer 7

In liquid water, the water molecules are close and loosely arranged.
In ice, the water molcules are stablized and in a organized structure.

• In the winter when ice forms on the top of lakes, it floats. Since water is a very good insulator, (heat does not easily transfer out to the colder air), it forms a sort of blanket on top of the lake. This allows the bottom of the lake to remain liquid and life there can continue. Because of this, the aquatic ecosystem can still survive. In the spring when the lake starts to thaw and there’s no more aquatic life, the organisms that dampened on them to survive will slowly start to die out. That creates a chain which would eventually reach humans.

Question 8

High Surface Tension

Answer 8

When water is a liquid, the water molecules form hydrogen bonds with the water molecules surrounding them. However, at the air-water interface, the water molecules can’t bond to any water above themselves because there isn’t any. So these water molecules form extra hydrogen bonds
with the water to the sides. This extra bonding creates a tough thin film at the
surface of the water.