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 are the three parts of a dna nucleotide, What are the three parts of a...

What are the three parts of a DNA nucleotide, and how are they connected to each other? The three types are a deoxyribose sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base. The

Its possible to obtain probability of emergence of genotype?, How is it pos...

How is it possible to obtain the probability of emergence of a given genotype formed of more than one pair of different alleles with independent segregation from the knowledge of t

Pineal gland, PINEAL GLAND (EPIPHYSIS CEREBRI) - It develops from th...

PINEAL GLAND (EPIPHYSIS CEREBRI) - It develops from the ectoderm of the embryo. The pineal gland is located between the cerebral hemispheres, where it protrudes from the

Explain the inoculating loops and needles, Explain the Inoculating Loops an...

Explain the Inoculating Loops and Needles? These are most commonly used tools for inoculation. The inoculating loop consists of insulating handle at the end of which inoculatin

Carbohydrate is an organic compound , The Carbohydrate sets are covalently ...

The Carbohydrate sets are covalently attached to various variant proteins to form glycoproteins. Carbohydrates are a shorter percentage of the weight of glycoproteins than of prote

Auxins - apical dominance, Auxins - Apical Dominance The role of auxin...

Auxins - Apical Dominance The role of auxins in controlling the apical dominance was shown by the experiments done by Skoog and Thimann with the broad bean plant. They removed

Examining regulated health professions, In a comparative study you are exam...

In a comparative study you are examining two items, two scenarios, for Introduction to Professionalism you will be Examining two Regulated Health Professions. One will be the Colle

Determine about the accommodation of eye, Determine about the Accommodation...

Determine about the Accommodation of eye Accommodation is the ability of the overall refracting power of the eye to change to clearly view objects at different distances. This

Combination of meat products, C o mbination of meat products Combinin...

C o mbination of meat products Combining meats and byproducts of different species to produce value added products results in complementation and supplementation of their qua

What is the law of limiting factors, What is the law of limiting factors? H...

What is the law of limiting factors? How would the rate of photosynthesis be affected if the soil water becomes limiting? Describe.

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