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

Golgi complex, Golgi complex is the organelles in animal cells having a se...

Golgi complex is the organelles in animal cells having a sequence of þattened sacs which sort, chemically modify, and package proteins produced on the rough endoplasmic reticulum.

How are the main classes of arthropods classified, How are the main classes...

How are the main classes of arthropods classified according to the presence of larval stage in their embryonic development? In crustaceans there are species with direct and oth

Explain the types of cell reproduction, Explain the Types of cell Reproduct...

Explain the Types of cell Reproduction ? One of the major characteristics of living organisms is their ability to grow and reproduce. This is accomplished by cell division. In

Why is knowledge of chemistry necessary for study, Why is knowledge of chem...

Why is knowledge of chemistry necessary for the study of living organisms?

Science in the ancient world, Science in the ancient  world: We have e...

Science in the ancient  world: We have explained why we should study the history of science and what we mean by the history of science. We have seen what science is like in t

How does a dna vaccine prevent future disease, How does a DNA vaccine preve...

How does a DNA vaccine prevent future disease? A DNA vaccine having DNA from a pathogen but cannot cause disease. When the vaccine is injected into a patient, the DNA directs t

Define changes in physical development in infants, Define Changes in Physic...

Define Changes in Physical Development in infants? It seems that all infants do is to sleep and hardly Seed. In spite of this observation, a well-fed and cased infant doubles i

Explain fontan operation, Explain Fontan Operation ? The original Font...

Explain Fontan Operation ? The original Fontan operation was done in a case where classical Glenn operation had been done (end-Lo-end anastomosis of superior vena cava and lig

Respiration, how do flatworm and round worms respire?

how do flatworm and round worms respire?

Heart, Septa prevent oxygenated and deoxygenated blood. Give reason

Septa prevent oxygenated and deoxygenated blood. Give reason

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