Water - 3.2 (2) Flashcards
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What kind of properties does water have?
cohesive properties
Why does water move as one mass?
because the molecules are attraced to each other (because of cohesion)
As it moves as one mass because the molecules are attracted to eachother, this is how plants are able to draw what up?
draw water up from their roots and how you are able to drink water through a straw
What other properties does water also have?
adhesive properties - this is where water molecules are attracted to other materials
For example, when you wash your hands, your hands become wet, and the water doesn’t run straight off. What are the water molecules more strongly cohesive to?
each other than they are to air -> this results in water having a ‘skin’ of surface tension
What are the characteristics and properties of water vital in?
sustaining life
Because water is a polar molecule, what does it act as?
a solvent in which many of the solutes (substances) in an organism can be dissolved
What is the cytosol of prokaryotes and eukaryotes?
mainly water
Many solutes (substances) are also what?
polar molecules, amino acids, proteins, and nucleic acids
What does water act as?
a medium for chemical reactions
What does water help to transport?
dissolved compounds into and out of cells
What does water make a very efficient transport medium for?
within living things
What does cohesion between water molecules mean?
when water is transported through the body, the molecules will stick together
Where does adhesion occur between?
water molecules and other polar molecules and surfaces
What does the effects on adhesion and cohesion result in?
water exhibiting capillary action
What is capillary action?
the process where water can rise up a narrow tube against the force of gravity
What can water also act as?
a coolant
What does water acting as a coolant help to buffer?
temperature changes during chemical reactions in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells bc of the large amounts of energy required to overcome hydrogen bonding
Why is maintaining constant temperatures in cellular enviroments important?
as enzymes are often only active in a narrow temperature range
What lives in water and cannot survive out of it?
many organisms such as fish
How is water stable?
it does not change temperature or become a gas easily, so it provides a constant enviroment
Because ice floats, what does it form?
it forms on the surface of ponds and lakes, rather than from the bottom up
What does the ice that forms on the surface of ponds and lakes form?
an insulating layer above the water below
What would aquatic organisms not be able to survive?
freezing temperatures if their enire habitat froze solid
