Unit 2: chemical of water Flashcards
What percentage of a human’s body weight is water?
As much as 70 percent.
What roles make water indispensable to human functioning?
Multiple roles including as a lubricant, cushion, heat sink, and component of liquid mixtures.
How does water act as a lubricant in the body?
Water is a major component of lubricating fluids such as synovial fluid and pleural fluid.
What is the function of synovial fluid?
It lubricates the actions of body joints.
How does water protect organs from physical trauma?
It cushions the brain and protects delicate nerve tissues.
What is a heat sink?
A substance that absorbs and dissipates heat without a corresponding increase in temperature.
How does water function as a heat sink in the body?
Water absorbs heat generated by chemical reactions and helps cool the body through sweating.
What is a mixture in chemistry?
A combination of two or more substances that maintain their own chemical identity.
What is a solution in the context of body fluids?
A water-based liquid containing a solvent that dissolves a solute.
What are the two types of chemical reactions involving water?
Dehydration synthesis and hydrolysis.
What occurs during dehydration synthesis?
One reactant gives up an atom of hydrogen and another gives up a hydroxyl group, releasing a molecule of water.
What happens during hydrolysis?
A molecule of water disrupts a compound, breaking its bonds.
What is the average body water percentage in women and men?
50 percent in women and 60 percent in men.
What is intracellular fluid (ICF)?
Fluid enclosed in cells by their plasma membranes, making up about 55% of total body water.
What is extracellular fluid (ECF)?
Fluid that surrounds all cells in the body, consisting of plasma and interstitial fluid.
What percentage of extracellular fluid is found in plasma?
Approximately 16%.
What is interstitial fluid?
The fluid surrounding living cells in every tissue, accounting for nearly 80% of extracellular fluid.
Name some other water-based extracellular fluids.
- Cerebrospinal fluid
- Lymph
- Synovial fluid
- Pleural fluid
- Pericardial fluid
- Peritoneal fluid
- Aqueous humor
Fill in the blank: The intracellular fluid makes up more than ______ of the total water in the human body.
half
True or False: The amount of water in living cells is closely regulated.
True
What happens if the amount of water inside a cell falls too low?
The cytosol becomes too concentrated with solutes.
What can occur if too much water enters a cell?
The cell may burst and be destroyed.
