WATER

WATER
Water is the most important inorganic liquid that
exists naturally on earth.
All living organisms are composed of cells that
contain at least 60 % water.
Oceans, which cover 70% of the earth’s surface,
contain over 97% percent of earth’s water.
However, saltwater cannot be consumed by
humans or used for many industrial processes.
Of the freshwater (less than 3%) found on earth, only
a tiny fraction is available for use.
WATER
Oceans 97.57 %
Rivers and Lakes 0.02 %
Soil 0.01 %
Groundwater 0.50 %
Ice and Glaciers 1.90 %
STRUCTURE OF WATER
Water is a compound whose molecule is made
up of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen
atom.
Water occurs naturally in all three physical
states :
 solid (hail, snow, ice)
 liquid (rain, lakes and rivers)
 vapour (steam)
 WATER: BONDING
 Lewis structure of water shows that water has
2 bonding pair of electrons and two lone pairs
of electrons around the central atom.
 The three atoms are not in a straight line,
instead they form an angle of 1050 between
2 of the two bonding pairs of electrons.
 Intramolecular bonding in water molecule -
covalent bonds.
 Intermolecular bonding in water molecule-
hydrogen bonding
WATER: SHAPE

Water molecule has a bent or V shape.

WATER MOLECULE
Hydrogen and oxygen atoms have different
electronegativites.
Oxygen has higher electronegativity than hydrogen
which means oxygen atom attracts the negative
electrons more strongly than the hydrogen atoms.
This makes water behave like a body having opposite
electrical at either end or pole. Such a body is
called a dipole.
Due to the fact, it has opposite charges on two ends,
the water molecule may be attracted to either
positively or negatively charged ions.
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF WATER
 colourless, tasteless, odorless liquid.
 Polar molecule
 boils at 1000C (abnormally high)
 freezes at 00C(abnormally low)
 High enthalpy of vaporization
 High enthalpy of fusion
 High surface tension
 High heat capacity
 Density of liquid water higher than solid water.
 Pure water is a poor conductor of electricity
CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF WATER
Water is involved in numerous chemical
reactions as a solvent, reactant or product.
Some important types of reactions in which
water is involved are :
1. Acid-base reactions
2. Oxidation and Reduction reactions
3. Hydrolysis
ACID-BASE REACTIONS
Water is amphoteric. This means it can act either as
an acid or as a base. Its amphoteric nature is due
to auto-ionization, that is self-ionization.
2H2O(l)  H3O+(aq) + OH-(aq)
Water can act as a proton acceptor,
HCl + H2O  H3O+ + Cl-
Water can act as a proton donor
NH3 + H2O  NH4+ + OH-
 OXIDATION & REDUCTION
Water can act as an oxidizing agent and a
reducing agent
It oxidizes metals above tin in the electrochemical series.
For example, in the reaction between sodium and
water, the following oxidation process occurs :
Na(s)  Na+(aq) + e
The water itself is reduced during the reaction,
2H2O(l) + 2e  2OH-(aq) + H2(g)
OXIDATION & REDUCTION
Water is an important oxidizing agent in corrosion
processes.
Water is an important reducing agent in certain
biochemical processes.
For example, several stages of the citric acid cycle
involve oxidation of water
2H2O(l)  O2 + 4H+ + 4e
This electron transfer process is also important in
the reduction of organic phosphate compounds
during photosynthesis.
HYDROLYSIS
This is the reaction of an ion or molecule with
water.
E.g
FeCl3(aq) + 3H2O (l)  Fe(OH)3 + 3H+ + 3Cl-

Hydrolysis of organic compounds are common

E.g
Ethyl ethanoate + H2O  ethanoic acid + ethanol
 WATER’S UNIQUE PROPERTIES

Hydrogen bonding: water unique prop’s

comes from the strong attractive forces
between molecules.
 WATER’S UNIQUE PROPERTIES

1. Liquid over wide temperature range:

without its high boiling point the oceans
would have evaporated long ago.

2. Changes temperature slowly: high specific

heat means slow temperature changes.
Helps moderate climate.
WATER’S UNIQUE PROPERTIES
3. High heat of evaporation:
evaporation takes a lot of heat.
This explains why sweating
makes you feel cooler.
4. Great dissolving power: known
as the universal solvent because
so may things dissolve well in it.
Leads to pollution problems as
well.
 WATER’S UNIQUE PROPERTIES

5. Filters out ultraviolet

radiation: protecting aquatic
organisms from sun’ rays.
6. Adhesion and cohesion:
strong forces of attraction
between molecules allows
water to rise up inside
plants from roots to leaves.
 WATER’S UNIQUE PROPERTIES
7. Expands when it freezes:
most substances
contract when frozen, not
water. Water expands
and is less dense in its
solid form. Hence, ice
floats.

8. Water is also one of few

substances found
commonly as a solid,
liquid and gas.
BIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES
 Water is essential for many biological activities including:
 Metabolism (all metabolic activities occur in an aqueous
solutions)
 Photosynthesis
 Lubrication (e.g. mucus in mammalian gut and synovial
fluid in the joints of vertebrates)
 Transport of substances (e.g. movement of glucose, amino
acids, nutrients and hormones in blood plasma, movement
of nutrients in plants)
 Transport of heat (e.g from the core to the outside of the
body in warm-blooded animals)
 Support (e.g. support of the hydrostatic skeleton in
earthworms, turgidity in plant cells)
 Temperature control (e.g. evaporation of water (sweating)
helps to regulate body temperature)