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

Respiration in fishes, RESPIR A TIO N IN FISHES - Respiratory org...

RESPIR A TIO N IN FISHES - Respiratory organs are gills. In elasmobranchi 5-7 pairs of gills present, spiracles present. In Teleostomai 4 pairs gills present, covered

What conclusion can draw about microorganisms, What conclusion you can draw...

What conclusion you can draw about microorganisms that you saw under microscope from the plaque of your teeth?

Oxidative phosphorylation occurs in the inner membrane, In  eukaryotes,  th...

In  eukaryotes,  the electron  transport  and oxidative phosphorylation occurs in the inner membrane of mitochondria.  These processes re-oxidize the FADH 2 and NADH   which comes

The nutrient composition of the diet, The nutrient composition of the diet ...

The nutrient composition of the diet The nutrient composition of the diet will depend upon the type(s) and amount(s) of liquids the patient can consume.  The diet is low  in  i

Define comprehensive dietary management regime of patient, Define Comprehen...

Define Comprehensive Dietary Management Regime of Patient? A comprehensive dietary management regime of the patient should be based on the patient profile as gathered pre and p

Types of cleavage, TYPES OF CLEAVAGE - Depending upon the distribution ...

TYPES OF CLEAVAGE - Depending upon the distribution & amount of yolk, cleavage is of following types - 1 .      HOLOBLASTIC EQUAL CLEAVAGE ( holos , whole ; blastos, ger

What are important neurotransmitters, Q. What are some important neurotrans...

Q. What are some important neurotransmitters? The following are some neurotransmitters: serotonin, noradrenaline (norepinephrine), histamine,acetylcholine, adrenaline (epinephr

Ask, what are the names of karyotypes?

what are the names of karyotypes?

Define the history of food microbiology, Normal 0 false false...

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

Illustrate the categories of alloplastic implant materials, Categories of a...

Categories of alloplastic implant materials The entire groups of possible alloplastic implant materials, regardless of their clinical applications fall into the following categ

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