Water Flashcards
What is meant by waters high specific heat capacity? Why is this important?
Because of hydrogen bonding, water takes a lot of energy to heat up
Importamt as it buffers temperature changes
What is the latent heat of vapourisation? Why is this useful in biological systems?
The energy required to evaporate
Water has high value of latent heat
Hence lots of heat lost through sweating
What is cohesion?
Hydrogen bonding of water molecules means they are cohesive, they stick together and can hence be pulled up a tube e.g. Xylem tissue
What is surface tension?
Water molecules are more attracted to the liquid than the air, means they are less likely to leave the water body
What is meant by water being a metabolite?
It is where metabolic reactions take place e.g. Hydrolysis and condensation
Water is a solvent, why is this important?
Means waste products canbe dissolved in the body and moved e.g. Urea
