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 sexually-transmitted diseases, Sexually-transmitted diseases M...

Sexually-transmitted diseases Many travelers have new sexual contacts during their journeys and are at increased risk for acquiring sexually transmitted diseases including HIV

Metabolism of lipids, The three main forms of fat found in food are glyceri...

The three main forms of fat found in food are glycerides (principally triacylglycerol [triglyceride], the form in which fat is stored for fuel), the phospholipids, and the sterols

Membrane protein purification and reconstitution, The first step of the pur...

The first step of the purification of an integral membrane protein is to disrupt its interactions with other integral proteins and the lipids in the membrane.  This is commonly ach

State the term cercaria, State the term Cercaria? A stage in the life c...

State the term Cercaria? A stage in the life cycle of trematode flukes. Cercaria develops from redia found in intermediate host. This tadpolelike organism is released from inte

Cell, What is eukaryotic cell?

What is eukaryotic cell?

Explain micafungin, Explain Micafungin It is an echinocandin indicated ...

Explain Micafungin It is an echinocandin indicated for treatment of esophageal candidiasis and prophylaxis of invasive Candida infections in patients undergoing hematopoietic s

Effects of failing to prepare adjusting entries, Failure to organize proper...

Failure to organize proper adjusting entries causes net income and the balance sheet to be in error. Using Micro Train Company as an instance this section has discussed and illustr

What is the secondary structure of a protein, The secondary protein structu...

The secondary protein structure is produced by the manner its amino acids interact by intermolecular bond. These interactions make a spatial conformation of the polypeptide filamen

Cell:the unit of life, cell wall of prokaryotic cell consist of what???

cell wall of prokaryotic cell consist of what???

What are the two major morphological patterns of cnidarians, Q. What are th...

Q. What are the two major morphological patterns of cnidarians? Concerning locomotion how do these forms differentiate from each other? Morphologically, cnidarians classify as

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