Water Flashcards
What are the seven main properties of water?
High specific heat capacity High specific latent heat Solvent Density Surface tension Transparency Cohesion
Why does water have a high specific heat capacity?
Water has lots of hydrogen bonds which means a lot of energy is needed to break them. This means there is less energy available to actually raise the temperature.
What is the advantage of water having a high specific heat capacity?
Organisms that live in water can maintain a relatively constant temperature as large bodies of water can maintain a relatively constant temperature.
Why does water have a high specific latent heat?
Because the molecules are held together by hydrogen bonds which means a lot of energy is needed to break them allowing it to be a liquid at room temperature .
What re the advantages of water having a high specific latent heat.
It takes away a lot of heat energy when it evaporates so can help cool living things down by sweating
As it it a liquid at room temperature, it provides an effective transport medium such as blood and also forms a major component of the tissues in living organisms.
How does water act as a solvent?
Because water is polar, the positive and negative parts of the water molecule are attracted to the negative and positive parts of the solute. This means the ions will get totally surrounded by the water molecules-they dissolve.
What is an advantage of water being a solvent?
This means living organisms can take up useful substances such as mineral ions, dissolved in water and these dissolved substances can be transported around the organisms body.
Why is ice less dense than water?
This is because water molecules are held further apart in ice than they are in liquid water.
What are the advantages of ice being less dense than water?
Ice forms an insulating layer on top of water, so the water below doesn’t freeze and aquatic organisms have a stable environment to live in.
Why does water have surface tension?
This is because water molecules at the surface are all hydrogen bonded to the molecules beneath them. This means that the surface of the water contracts because it is being pulled inwards and gives the surface of the water an ability to resist the force applied to it.
What are the advantages of water having surface tension?
This allows columns of water in plant vascular tissues to be pulled up to form roots.
Insects like pond skaters can walk on water
What are the advantages of water being transparent?
It’s transparency allows light to go through and act as a starting point for photosynthesis.
What is cohesion?
The attraction between molecules of the same type.
Why are water molecules very cohesive
Because they’re polar molecules
Why is water being cohesive good?
It helps water to flow making it great for transporting substances.
