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

Ilustrate the nutritional and functional role of sodium, Minerals  :-  Sodi...

Minerals  :-  Sodium Food Source      NaCl, MSG, other food additives, milk, low in most raw foods Nutritional Functional role Essential nutrient: Deficiency is ra

What are the synthetic auxins and what are their uses, What are the synthet...

What are the synthetic auxins and what are their uses? The Synthetic auxins like naphthalenic acid (NAA) and indolebutyric acid (IBA) are substances similar to IAA (a natural a

What is enteral feeding, Tube or Enteral Feeding Ideally the patient mu...

Tube or Enteral Feeding Ideally the patient must be fed orally, but in cases where the patient is unable to take solid foods, a part or all of intake is usually given by the tu

The Endocrine system, What are the two models that explain Mechanism of Hor...

What are the two models that explain Mechanism of Hormone Action on their target?

Digestion of nucleic acids, Digestion of Nucleic Acids Several nuclease...

Digestion of Nucleic Acids Several nucleases present  in  the  pancreatic juice  like RNAase and  DNAase  digest various nucleic acids- These enzymes  are endonucleases which h

Explain about the saponins, Explain about the Saponins? These are a div...

Explain about the Saponins? These are a diverse group of compounds commonly found in legumes like soybean, lentils, chickpeas, peanuts and alfalfa sprouts. They are also presen

Staphylococcal food poisoning, Staphylococcal food poisoning results from c...

Staphylococcal food poisoning results from consumption of food containing enterotoxin produced by enterotoxigenic strains of Staphylococcus aureus. It is caused by ingestion of imp

Determine the term - neuropsychologists and neurologists, Determine the ter...

Determine the term - Neuropsychologists and neurologists Neuropsychologists and neurologists studying behaviour have been greatly concerned with localisation of function in the

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