Water Flashcards
What are the properties of water?
- It is a metabolite.
- High specific heat capacity.
- Large latent heat of vaporisation.
- Cohesion between water molecules.
- Important solvent in reactions.
What is specific heat capacity?
The amount of energy to raise the temperature of 1kg of a substance by 1 degree celcius.
Why is water’s high specific heat capacity important?
It works well as a temperature buffer, which is important in preventing the denaturation of enzymes.
Why is water a metabolite?
Because it is in key chemical reactions such as respiration, photosynthesis, condensation reactions and hydrolysis.
Why is water’s large latent heat of vaporisation important?
Because it means lots of energy is required to evaporate water, so mammals are able to lose lots of heat energy when they sweat.
What is cohesion? (in terms of water)
The tendency of water to stick together.
Why is water being cohesive important?
Because it supports the formation of columns of water, which allows the transpiration pull through xylem tissue.
