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

Define changing body composition - age related functional, Define Changing ...

Define Changing Body Composition and Techniques for Measuring Body Composition? Changing body composition has been suggested as a pathway to explain age-related functional decl

Amphibians, Ask questionImagine you are studying a group of amphibian speci...

Ask questionImagine you are studying a group of amphibian species that vary in their habitats, some living in dense murky water, and others living in very clear ponds. What kind of

Solutions, how many grams of table sugar would you need to dissolved in wat...

how many grams of table sugar would you need to dissolved in water to produce 0.75 liters of a 0:25 molar acqeous solution of table sugar?

Gram positive & gram negative bacteria , What is the difference among Gram ...

What is the difference among Gram positive & Gram negative bacteria based on cell content? Ans) The cell membrane is made if more of lipoproteins in gram negative compared to gr

Fundamental polymers of life, The synthesis of the three fundamental polyme...

The synthesis of the three fundamental polymers of life, DNA, RNA and protein, is template-directed. This means that - Answer A. the monomers are assembled one by one in a sequence

Resource use of biodiversity, Biodiversity is multiple resource based offer...

Biodiversity is multiple resource based offering us a range of products, materials and services. Our survival and well being of man-kind is directly dependent on biodiversity. Biod

What is the approximate ph of the salivary secretion, What is the approxima...

What is the approximate pH of the salivary secretion? Is it an acid or basic fluid? What are the main functions of saliva? The saliva pH is approximately 6.8. It is therefore a

Protozoans and cnidarians, compare and contrast the structure of the follow...

compare and contrast the structure of the following: hyrda plain, hydra mematocysts, obelia, amoeba, euglena, paramecium caudatum conjugation, euglena acus.

Show the value of embryology, Q. Show the value of embryology? The valu...

Q. Show the value of embryology? The value of embryology in solving taxonomic problems can be appreciated by studying some specific cases. Amongst the classical examples cited

Nitrogen control of nitrogen assimilation, Nitrogen Control of Nitrogen Ass...

Nitrogen Control of Nitrogen Assimilation N 2 -fixer like Klebsiella pneumoniae and Nostoc can grow with N 2 , NO - 3 or NH + 4 as nitrogen source. You would like to know

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