Brendan Walsh AP Biology

October 24, 2011 Water Properties

Waters greatest properties are what allow for much of life to survive on Earth. These properties are due to its unique molecular form that varies from all others. The most important of these properties are: cohesion, surface tension, capillary action, and its unique density and polarity. These unique properties allow for much of the phenomena that make Earth unique and make it such an essential part of all living theses. Some of these phenomena are the freezing of ice during the winter, the way substances dissolve quickly in water, the meniscus that forms in a cylinder of water, water that falls on a surface tends to bead, and how when a paper towel is touched to water the water will move up into it. During the winter when water freezes into lakes a critical phenomenon that occurs is that water remains unfrozen below the ice. This allows for plants and fish to survive beneath the ice during winter despite the frozen water. Without this all life in the ecosystem would die quickly and there would be no fish today. This phenomenon occurs because water, as it gets colder expands when it freezes making the density of ice less than the density of water. Chemically this occurs because as the water gets colder and colder the density falls just like any other chemical but when water reaches its freezing point the hydrogen bonds, which are unique to water, become more solid and less weak and flexible

causing the oxygen molecules to stay separated and steady. This forms a hexagonal crystal lattice, which keeps spaces between the molecules in the ice and lowers the density. Water is also one of the worlds most universal solvents due to its polarity. Thousands of solvents and chemicals are easily dissolved in water, making it useful in all kinds of ways. The unusual polarity of water allows it to be such a good solvent, especially with ionic compounds like NaCl. It is such a good solvent because it uses its polarity to split apart salts, ionic compounds, like NaCl into ions and attaching the ions to either the hydrogen molecules or the oxygen molecules. Once these ions are split and attached into the hydrogen and oxygen molecules the salt dissolves leaving only liquid. Through this same method of detaching the ions and attracting them to the polar molecules of the water, water can easily displace just about any polar substance there is. This is important because without the polarity of water it would make the whole ocean freshwater, killing whole ecosystems, as well as much of the world. When water is being measured in a burette or other measuring tools, it is necessary to measure the meniscus of the water so to get the perfect measurement. While the difference is slight, the meniscus is most prominent in water mostly due to specific properties of water. The meniscus is a small concave of water that appears in cylinders caused by the capillary action of water. Due to the fact that

water is a polar molecule because it has uneven attractions from the hydrogen molecules to other molecules than the oxygen has to the hydrogen and vice versa. This causes water molecules to be drawn to other molecules and cling to them at times. Capillary action is the ability of a liquid to flow against gravity where liquid spontaneously rises in a narrow space such as a thin tube and is caused by the polarity of water being attracted to the polarity of whatever it is attracted to. In the case of the meniscus the water is attracted to the polar glass molecules, which pull the sides of the water up as the water clings to it. This clinging causes the meniscus of water to rise up and displace the level of the water. When water is both falling and when it is on the ground, it naturally forms into a round bead or ball shape. This phenomenon is one that is caused by the cohesiveness of water. Cohesion, which is when water is naturally brought closely together, is caused by the hydrogen bonds that form between water molecules drawing the water molecules closer to each other. Unlike many substances, the hydrogen bonds actually cause the other polar oxygen molecules to be attracted to the hydrogen on other molecules, thus drawing the water molecules into tightly packed groups. This cohesion is what causes water to naturally ball up on surfaces, or when in space to fly around in

spheres of water. The ball shape is also very weak, much like the hydrogen bonds that are causing it to form and although it is possible to keep together, the balls of water are easily breakable. Capillary Action is what allows paper towels to so easily absorb water. Paper towels are useful because they absorb water extremely easily and other products, like shammys, are even better at displacing all the water quickly. The concept of capillary action, as already explained, is that waters polarity allows it to be attracted to other polar substances leading to the water clinging to surfaces. In the concept of the paper towel, even though the paper towel is only vertically touching the water, the polar molecules of the water are attracted to the polar molecules of the paper towel and are drawn up the towel, causing more water to seep up the paper towel. This concept is critical to life, as with plants although water is absorbed through the roots of trees and plants, it is because of capillary action that the water is able to flow up the tree and provide water to the entire plant rather than just one. Water is the most important part of the world that we live in, without it life would be impossible and it is because of these tiny molecular properties that make it so special. Water differs from every substance in the world because of its unique structure and bonds and that is what allows it to be utilized in so many different ways. Although many properties seem regular because of how often they are used, these properties are what keep us alive and allow Earth and its inhabitants to thrive.

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