Explain the compound water, Biology

Assignment Help:

Explain the compound water?

Water :  Water is the most important compound in living cells, making up most of the bulk of living organisms. Our own bodies contain 40% - 60% water. We can survive without food longer than we can without water. Water has several unique properties that make it important to living organisms:

(1) Water is a good solvent. More substances dissolve in water than in any other liquid. Because of its polar nature, water is able to break up ionic compounds into their component ions, freeing them to react with other substances.

(2) Because it is a polar molecule, water is both cohesive and adhesive, which results in capillarity, the ability to move through small orifices or fine pores against the force of gravity and other forces.

(3) The heat of vaporization of water is high; that is, water takes up large quantities of heat when it evaporates, making it a good evaporative coolant. Both plants and animals use water evaporation from surface cells for cooling.

(4) Water has a high specific heat, meaning that it requires a large amount of heat to change its temperature. Since living organisms are made up mostly of water, they gain and lose heat slowly. Water is able to absorb heat from chemical reactions in the organisms.

(5) Water has a high thermal conductivity, or heat conduction, which helps to keep parts of the organism from overheating.

(6) Because of its cohesion, water has a high boiling point. The significance of this is that water does not readily change from a liquid to a gas. In fact, a relatively large quantity of heat is required to change water from a liquid state into gaseous steam.

 


Related Discussions:- Explain the compound water

Explain catastrophism, Catastrophism Once-popular belief which events in t...

Catastrophism Once-popular belief which events in the history of earth had occurred in the past a sudden events and by processes different from those operating today. The periods

Raw material for industry - impacts on biodiversity, Raw Material for Indus...

Raw Material for Industry - impacts on biodiversity The industry, producing goods and services, relies and impacts on biodiversity directly. Much of the raw material that goes

Why are agricultural fields often less stable, Why are agricultural fields ...

Why are agricultural fields often less stable than natural communities in the similar area? Because agricultural fields usually having one species of crop plant, they have low

Define the role of vitamin d in the immune system, Define the Role of Vitam...

Define the Role of Vitamin D in the immune system? Immune responses that are, mediated by T-cells can be inhibited by tile large doses of calcitriol i.e. 1, 25 dihydroxycholec

Acute complications of diabetes mellitus, Various acute complications of di...

Various acute complications of diabetes mellitus are described in this unit. Acute complications develop within a short period of time. These are due to improper treatment of diabe

What is meant by substrates of enzymatic reactions, What is meant by substr...

What is meant by substrates of enzymatic reactions? Substrates are reagent molecules upon which enzymes act. The enzyme has spatial binding sites for the attachment of its s

Heat loss, Heat Loss Temperature regulation is extremely uneconomical...

Heat Loss Temperature regulation is extremely uneconomical if it depends only on variations in metabolism. Therefore, mechanisms for losing excess heat have been developed by

Water soluble vitamins, Water Soluble Vitamins B-vitamins are abundant...

Water Soluble Vitamins B-vitamins are abundant in milk and other feeds. B-vitamins are synthesized by rumen microorganisms, beginning soon after a young animal begins feeding.

Chromosomes, Chromosomes  are the condensed, fibrillar, self- replicating g...

Chromosomes  are the condensed, fibrillar, self- replicating genetic structures of cells containing the cellular DNA which bears in its nucleotide sequence the linear array of gene

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd