Name

Living Environment
The Chemistry of Water
Read the article below about the chemistry of water. Be sure to
ANNOTATE & answer the uestions that follow based on the te!t.
"ater may be one of the most familiar
substances on the #lanet$ but it certainly
isn%t ordinary. &n fact$ water%s uniue
chemical #ro#erties ma'e it so com#licated
that even after decades of research$
scientists still have much to learn about this
remar'able and versatile substance.
That%s water$ as in the clear$ s#ar'ling (uid
that covers three uarters of the Earth%s
surface)not to mention the basis of life as
we 'now it$ and #ossessor of the world%s
most recogni*able chemical formula +,-O..
"ater is everywhere. And yet$ scientists are
still learning about its #ro#erties. "ater
sim#ly doesn%t behave li'e other liuids.
&f you dro# an ice cube into a glass of water$
it (oats. This ha##ens because water
e!#ands as it free*es$ which ma'es the solid
form less dense than the liuid. But most
other liuids do /ust the o##osite0 they shrin'
and become more dense as they free*e$ so
the solid form sin's. &f water behaved that
way$ ice would accumulate on the bottom of
la'es and oceans during the winter$ and
would have di1culty thawing in the s#ring. &f
#ossible$ this would have dire conseuences
for auatic life.
Another sur#rising characteristic of water is
that it boils at a very high tem#erature)233
degrees 4elsius at sea level)com#ared to
similarly si*ed molecules. &f water behaved
li'e other liuids$ it would e!ist as a gas at
the tem#eratures and #ressures found on
Earth$ and life as we 'now it couldn%t survive.
&n general$ the odd behaviors of ,-O are
reasonably understood. &n large #art$
scientists attribute the uniue #ro#erties
of water to the s#ecial chemical lin'ages
it forms called 5hydrogen bonds6)
interactions between the ,%s and the O%s
of neighboring ,-O molecules. The
hydrogen bond between water molecules
is the reason behind two of water7s
uniue #ro#erties8 cohesion and
adhesion. 4ohesion refers to the fact that
water stic's to itself very easily. Adhesion
means that water also stic's very well to
other things$ which is why it s#reads out
in a thin 9lm on certain surfaces$ li'e
glass. "hen water comes into contact
with these surfaces$ the adhesive forces
are stronger than the cohesive forces.
&nstead of stic'ing together in a ball$ it
s#reads out.
"ater also has a high level of surface
tension. This means that the molecules on
the surface of the water are not surrounded
by similar molecules on all sides$ so they7re
being #ulled only by cohesion from other
molecules dee# inside. These molecules
cohere to each other strongly but adhere to
the other medium wea'ly. One e!am#le of
this is the way that water beads u# on wa!y
surfaces$ such as leaves or wa!ed cars.
:urface tension ma'es these water dro#s
round so they cover the smallest #ossible
surface area.
4a#illary action is also a result of surface
tension. As we mentioned$ this ha##ens in
#lants when they ;suc' u#; water. The water
adheres to the inside of the #lant7s tubes$ but
the surface tension attem#ts to (atten it out.
This ma'es the water rise and cohere to
itself again$ a #rocess that continues until
enough water builds u# to ma'e gravity
begin #ulling it bac' down.
"ater is often 'nown as the universal
solvent$ which means that many substances
dissolve in it. :ubstances that dissolve in
water are hydro#hilic. This means that they
are 5water loving6 :alt and sugar are both
#olar$ li'e water$ so they dissolve very well in
it. :ubstances that do not dissolve in water
are hydro#hobic +water fearing.. This is the
source of the saying ;oil and water don7t
mi!.; "ater7s solvency is why the water that
we use is rarely #ure0 it usually has several
minerals dissolved in it.
1. <ill in the chart below using information from the article
Unique Property of Water Why it is important to life
&ce <loats +density of solid
water.
,igh :#eci9c ,eat
4a#illary Action +adhesion &
4ohesion.
=niversal :olvent
2. "hat is the source for the uniue #ro#erties of water listed in the chart
above> &n order words$ what is it about the chemistry of water that allows it
to act so di?erently than other liuids found on Earth>