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 lock and key model, Fischer 's template or lock and key model ...

Fischer 's template or lock and key model According to this model, the catalytic site of the enzyme has a proper conformation compatible to a specific substrate even  in  the a

Define fat requirement for cancer patients, Define Fat requirement for canc...

Define Fat requirement for cancer patients? During cancer there is enhanced mobilization of free fatty acids from adipose tissues resulting in subsequent depletion of total bod

What is the significance of the epiglottis in human body, a) What is the si...

a) What is the significance of the epiglottis in human body? b) What happens to the glycogen concentration in the liver cells when the level of adrenaline enhances in the blood

Why pulses are important for human - nutritional factor, Why Pulses are imp...

Why Pulses are important for human - nutritional factor? Pulses are rich sources of proteins (20-25 g/100 g), the limiting amino acid being methioniize. However, protein quality

What is fontan operation and modifications, What is Fontan Operation and Mo...

What is Fontan Operation and Modifications ? Earlier reported to have 20 per cent mortality, it has come down to five per cent in specialized centres. In the earlier series th

What are taxonomic characters, What are Taxonomic characters Taxonomic...

What are Taxonomic characters Taxonomic characters Classification is done on the basis of information we have. More information gives better classification. Modern taxonomy

Sphaerosome, Sphaerosome Also known as Plant lysosome , because the...

Sphaerosome Also known as Plant lysosome , because they contain hydrolytic enzymes. Hanstei n first observed them and called microsomes . Discovered by Dangeared

Approximate composition of human tissue, Approximate Composition of Human T...

Approximate Composition of Human Tissue Table gives the approximate composition of human tissue. We all know that carbon, oxygen, hydrogen are present in water and other organ

Pneumonia, Pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory process in which th...

Pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory process in which there is consolidation in lung caused by exudates filing the alveolar spaces. Gas exchange cannot take place in the c

Social basis of primitive life, Social Basis of Primitive Life: In th...

Social Basis of Primitive Life: In the previous section, we gave you a glimpse of  how the primitive human beings faced the problems of day to day existence and found some so

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