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Properties of Water

Water has several important properties due to its molecular structure and hydrogen bonding between molecules. It is polar, allowing it to dissolve many other polar substances. It has a high specific heat capacity due to the energy required to break hydrogen bonds when temperature increases. Unlike most substances, water reaches its maximum density at 4°C and expands as it freezes into ice at 0°C, causing ice to float. These unique properties are crucial for life on Earth.

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65 views

Properties of Water

Water has several important properties due to its molecular structure and hydrogen bonding between molecules. It is polar, allowing it to dissolve many other polar substances. It has a high specific heat capacity due to the energy required to break hydrogen bonds when temperature increases. Unlike most substances, water reaches its maximum density at 4°C and expands as it freezes into ice at 0°C, causing ice to float. These unique properties are crucial for life on Earth.

Uploaded by

Jayzl Lastrella Castaneda
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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PROPERTIES OF WATER

“How relevant is this picture?”

Water is one of our major necessities to survive. If there is no water there


would be no life on earth. With all the benefits we get from the water we should be
warned of how destructive it is. Yes, from the picture it shows how it disrupted the
smooth flow of traffic in cities. This incident is currently reported in August 2020
where cars are stalled on side streets along EDSA due to heavy rains. On the same
date, a catastrophic flood swept 13 houses in Kamuning Quezon City.

In chemistry, we study water specifically its properties. Why? Because water


is well known to its being a universal solvent. And as a STEM student, a deeper
understanding of this property of water is a must. This module will help you become
more familiar with these properties as we relate it with its molecular structure and
intermolecular forces. Ok, let us have a walkthrough on these properties of water.
Properties of Water
Water is an inorganic compound that is colorless, odorless, tasteless, but it
is considered as the most important compound in the body. In fact, 50% of water or
more is in the normal adult`s body. The capability of dissolving more substances
than any other liquid made water as “universal solvent”. Polarity, cohesion, adhesion,
surface tension, and high specific heat, are the main properties of water.

Let us then have a closer look first on the molecular structure of water.

A. Molecular structure of water

Can you think of a substance that cannot


be dissolved in water? Why?

Yes, these are oils or fats because they are non-polar which makes them
hydrophobic. Meaning these molecules don’t like to be mixed with water due to a
polar molecule.
Figure 1

Figure 1 shows a water molecule with one oxygen atom that is covalently
bonded with two hydrogen atoms. The sharing of electrons from the outer energy
shell of two atoms of oxygen makes the covalent bond. Also, the sharing of these
electrons is not shared equally within the molecule making it polar as shown in figure
2.
Figure 2

B. Intermolecular forces of water

Because of the unequal sharing of electrons, this makes the oxygen side to be
partially negative and each of the hydrogen is partially positively charged as shown
in figure 2. The slightly negative particles of a water molecule will be attracted to
water's hydrogen atoms of the adjacent water molecule, while the slightly positive
particles will be attracted to water's oxygen molecule of that adjacent
water molecule; causing the compound to dissociate. The bond that holds each water
molecule with the adjacent water molecule is a hydrogen bond. This type of
intermolecular force makes the water polar and explains why water is a universal
solvent. In other words, water is a very effective solvent enabling to break apart many
substances. The claim on the polarity of the water molecule is shown in figure 3.
Figure 3

Let us not forget also that substances that are polar and ready to be dissolved in
water are called hydrophilic (water-loving), and those substances that are nonpolar
which don’t dissolve in water are called hydrophobic (water-fearing). Examples of
these hydrophilic and hydrophobic substances are shown in figure 4.
Figure 4

C. Water has high Specific heat

Why does water has a high specific heat? Since we know that hydrogen bond is
behind the attraction that is present between molecules of water, therefore for us to
raise the temperature of the water, we need an amount of energy to break these
hydrogen bonds. The amount of energy needed is called specific heat. Specific heat is
the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 gram of a substance 1 degree
Celsius (°C). As we do this we are increasing the average kinetic energy of water
molecule. Therefore as the temperature of water raises only slightly, water has to
absorb 4,184 Joules of heat (1 calorie) for the temperature of one kilogram of water
to increase 1°C. Lucky to the fishes because the water in the lakes takes a lot of heat
before it gets hot. Table 1 below is the specific heat of some common materials.
Table 1
D. Density of liquid water vs density of ice cube

Why does ice cube float on water? This is because the solid form of water is
less dense than its liquid form. Usually, as a liquid substance cools its molecule
occupies a smaller volume making it denser. I would like you to stay focus on the
graph given in figure 5.
Figure 5

Have you seen the relationship between the density of the water as it cools from
12°C to 4°C? As the water cools off the density gets higher wherein at 4°C the density
of water is at maximum and the water contracts. What point in the given graph would
show a deviation from our claim on the stated relationship between density and
temperature? At temperature below 4°C, the density did not increase rather it
decreased. This displays the abnormal behavior of water or unique behavior wherein
water`s density below 4°C further decreases until it freezes into an ice cube at 0°C.
So the water expands instead of contracting when the temperature goes from 4°C to
0°C, and it becomes less dense because water molecules normally form open crystal
structure when in solid form. This behavior is known as anomalous expansion of
water that supports the marine life in the colder regions where the formation of ice
on bodies of water is evident. The surface of ice above a lake, shields lakes from the
cold temperature outside, insulates the water beneath it, and allowing the lake under
the ice to stay liquid and maintain a temperature adequate for the ecosystems living
in the lake to survive.

E. Surface Tension, Heat of Vaporization and Vapor Pressure

From the previous discussion, we had discussed the meaning of cohesion,


adhesion, and surface tension. Water has the highest cohesion of any non-metallic
liquid that results in its high surface tension. Water's high surface tension is due to
the hydrogen bonding in water molecules.

The property of having high cohesion made evident on the presence of


droplets on the surface of leaves or some paper wax where the water beads up.
Here the water molecules adhere weakly to the surfaces of wax paper or leaf. As this
water molecule beads up it creates a surface area or surface tension. But there are
substances where water molecules quite like to stick to. Like water in a beaker, the
adhesive force of water and the glass is stronger than the cohesive forces between
the water molecules. Again adhesion is the attraction between two different
substances while cohesion is the attraction between two similar things.
Another thing that is good to note is that water has an exceptionally high heat
of vaporization which is 41 kJ/mol. This is when liquid water changes to a gas
(endothermic reaction).
Water`s vapor pressure is also another good to consider which is inversely
related to its intermolecular forces. Since water has very strong intermolecular
forces, then it has a low vapor pressure. Water`s low vapor pressure is even lower
compared to larger molecules with low vapor pressures.

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