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

What could have caused the discrepancy, If the class's value did not match ...

If the class's value did not match the expected value of water, let's assume everyone was actually correctly using the devices and there was no "user error." What could have caused

Explain about iceberg phenomenon, Q. Explain about Iceberg Phenomenon? ...

Q. Explain about Iceberg Phenomenon? Phenomenon means a fact or occurrence that appears. Let us see how iceberg phenomenon is applied to Diabetes Mellitus (DM). Cases of dia

Explain endonucleases, Explain Endonucleases Endonucleases  are  nucle...

Explain Endonucleases Endonucleases  are  nucleases present  in  the pancreatic juice like RNAase  andDNAase. These hydrolyze internal phosphodiester bonds which are located m

Head stream of highland brook zone, Head stream of Highland brook zone ...

Head stream of Highland brook zone This is formed by a number of small streams, which originate from a marsh, a spring or a glacier. This is a small shallow zone with an irreg

Leptospirosis, L e p t o s p i r o s i s It is zoonotic dis...

L e p t o s p i r o s i s It is zoonotic disease characterized by interstitial nephritis, haemolytic anaemia and abortions. E t iology : The disease i

How muscle contraction intensely increased, To increase the strength of the...

To increase the strength of the muscle work is the muscle contraction intensely increased? An increase in the strength of the muscle work is not achieved by enhance in the inte

Hirudinea - feeding and digestion in annelids, Hirudinea - Feeding and Dige...

Hirudinea - Feeding and Digestion in Annelids Hirudinea involves free living and ectoparasitic leeches. Leeches are blood suckers. The digestive system contains a preoral cham

Blood sampling , BLOOD SAMPLING : In blood sampling, the skin is deliberat...

BLOOD SAMPLING : In blood sampling, the skin is deliberately punctured in order to take a blood sample for analysis. If this is done carelessly, it is easy for microorganisms eith

Determine nutritional requirements in hot environments, Determine Nutrition...

Determine Nutritional Requirements in Hot Environments? Hot environments may be of two types: dry hot, as in the case of deserts or hot and humid in tropical rain forests and c

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