Water and Life 3

Wafa` Ahmad
KEY CONCEPTS

3.1 Polar covalent bonds in water molecules

result in hydrogen bonding

3.2 Four emergent properties of water

contribute to Earth’s suitability for life

3.3 Acidic and basic conditions affect living

organisms

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The Molecule That Supports All of Life

• Because water is the substance that makes life

possible on Earth,

• All organisms are made of mostly water.

• Cells are 70–95% water.

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• Three-quarters of Earth’s surface is submerged
in water.

• Water exists in all three physical states of

matter: solid (ice) , liquid, and gas(water
vapor).

• Water is a reactant in many of the chemical

reactions of life.

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CONCEPT 3.1
Polar covalent bonds in water molecules
result in hydrogen bonding

• The water molecule is a polar molecule:

the opposite ends have opposite
charges

• Polarity allows water molecules to

form hydrogen bonds with each other

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Oxygen is more electronegative than hydrogen,
so the electrons of the covalent bonds spend
more time closer to oxygen than to hydrogen;
these are polar covalent bonds

This unequal sharing

of electrons and
water’s V-like shape
make it a polar
molecule, meaning
that its overall
charge is unevenly
distributed.
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In water, the oxygen of the molecule has two
regions of partial negative charge (δ-), and each
hydrogen has a partial positive charge (δ+).

The properties of water arise from attractions

between oppositely charged atoms of different
water molecules:.
The partially positive hydrogen of one
molecule is attracted to the partially negative
oxygen of a nearby molecule

The two molecules are thus held together by a

hydrogen bond
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explain why the central water molecule can
hydrogen bond to four (rather then three or
five) other water molecules.

Due to its two polar covalent bonds, a water

molecule has four regions of partial charge:
two positive regions on the two hydrogens
and two negative regions on the oxygen
atom.

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CONCEPT 3.2
Four emergent properties of water
contribute to Earth’s suitability for life

1.) Cohesive behavior

2.) Moderation of temperature
3.) Expansion upon freezing
4.) Versatility as a solvent

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 1.) Cohesive behavior

Cohesion- the binding

together of like molecules

The hydrogen bonds hold

the substance together, a
phenomenon called
cohesion.

• Adhesion,the binding of one

substance to another

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 Cohesion due to
Evaporation from
hydrogen bonds
leaves pulls water
between water
upward from the
molecules helps
roots through
hold together the
water-conducting
column of water
cells
within the cells.

Adhesion of the water to

cell walls by hydrogen
bonds helps resist the
downward pull of gravity

Water transport in plants. Because of the properties of cohesion and adhesion,

the tallest trees can transport water more than100 m upward
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Cohesion of Water Molecules

• Collectively, hydrogen bonds hold water

molecules together, a phenomenon called
cohesion

• Cohesion helps hold together the column

of water within the cells and transport of
water against gravity in plants

• Adhesion is an attraction between different

substances, for example, between water and
plant cell walls
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surface tension, a measure of how difficult it is to
stretch or break the surface of a liquid.
Surface tension is related to cohesion

At the interface between water and air is an

ordered arrangement of water molecules,
hydrogen-bonded to one another and to the water
below, but not to the air above

The high surface tension of water,

resulting from the collective
strength of its hydrogen bonds,
allows this raft spider to walk on
the surface of a pond
Walking on water

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2.) Moderation of Temperature by Water

Water moderates air temperature by :

• absorbing heat from air that is warmer
• releasing heat to air that is cooler

Water is effective as a heat bank because it

can absorb or release a relatively large
amount of heat with only a slight change in
its own temperature.

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Heat and Temperature

• Kinetic energy is the energy of motion

• Heat is the total amount of kinetic energy

due to molecular motion.

• Temperature measures the intensity of

heat due to the average kinetic energy of
molecules (energy of motion).

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• The Celsius scale is a measure of
temperature using Celsius degrees (°C)

• A calorie (cal) is the amount of heat required

to raise the temperature of 1 g of water by 1°C

• The joule (J) is another unit of measurement

• where 1 J = 0.239 cal, or 1 cal = 4.184 J

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 Why does water moderate temperature?

Water has a high specific heat (the amount of

heat that is needed for 1 g of water to make a
change in its temperature by 1ºC).

• The specific heat of water is 1 cal/(g.C).

• Water resists changing its temperature because of

its high specific heat

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Substance Specific heat (cal/g)
Aluminum 0.215
Copper 0.0923
Silver 0.0558
Zinc 0.0925
Alcohol(ethyl) 0.58
Water 1.00
Granite 0.19
Glass 0.20

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 Water’s high specific heat is due to
hydrogen bonds!!
• As temperatures increase, heat must be absorbed
to break H bonds
• As temperatures decrease,
heat is released as H bonds
are formed

The high specific heat of

water minimizes
temperature changes to
within limits that permit
life
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 Evaporative Cooling
• Evaporation is transformation of a substance
from liquid to gas

• Heat of vaporization is the heat a liquid must

absorb for 1 g to be converted to gas

• As a liquid evaporates, its remaining surface

cools, a process called evaporative cooling

• Evaporative cooling of water helps stabilize

temperatures in organisms
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3.) Expansion upon freezing
(Floating of Ice on Liquid Water)

• Ice floats in liquid water because hydrogen

bonds in ice are more “ordered,” making ice
less dense
(Water is one of the few substances that are less
dense as a solid than as a liquid).

• Water reaches its greatest density at 4°C

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As the temperature falls from 4°C to 0°C, water begins to
freeze, hydrogen bonds begin to break making more and
more of its molecules move away from each other and the
density decreases.

At 0°C, the molecules become locked into a crystalline

lattice, each water molecule hydrogen bonded to four
partners .

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Floating ice becomes a barrier that insulates the liquid
water below from the colder air.

If ice sank, all bodies of water would freeze solid,

making life impossible on Earth

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 4.) Versatility as a solvent
Water: The Solvent of life
• A liquid that is a completely homogeneous mixture of
two or more substances is called a solution.

The dissolving agent of a solution is the solvent, and

the substance that is dissolved is the solute.

An aqueous solution is one in which the solute is

dissolved in water; water is the solvent.

• The sphere of water molecules around each dissolved

ion is called a hydration shell.

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Water is a versatile solvent due to its polarity,
which allows it to form hydrogen bonds easily

• When an ionic
compound is
dissolved in
water, each ion
is surrounded by
a sphere of
water molecules
called a
hydration shell

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• Water can also dissolve compounds made of
nonionic polar molecules
• Even large polar molecules such as proteins can
dissolve in water if they have ionic and polar
regions

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This is biologically important because

most biochemical reactions take place
in water!!
Hydrophilic and Hydrophobic Substances

• Any substance that has an affinity for water is

said to be hydrophilic (from the Greek hydro,
water, and philos, loving).

• substances that do not have an affinity for

water these substances are said to be
hydrophobic (fromthe Greek phobos, fearing).

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Water will dissolve hydrophilic substances:

• salts
• other polar molecules (ie. sugars-won’t
break covalent bonds, just separate
molecules)

Water will NOT dissolve hydrophobic substances:

• non-polar molecules (i.e.fats and oils)

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3.3 Acidic and basic conditions affect
living organisms
• A hydrogen atom in a hydrogen bond between
two water molecules can shift from one to the
other

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• The hydrogen atom leaves its electron behind and is
transferred as a proton, or hydrogen ion (H+ )

• The molecule with the extra proton is now a hydronium

ion (H3O+ ), though it is often represented as H+

• The molecule that lost the proton is now a hydroxide ion

(OH– )

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The concentration of H+ and of OH- in pure
water is therefore 10-7 M (at 25°C).

Adding certain solutes, called acids and

bases, modifies the concentrations of H+ and
OH–

Biologists use something called the pH scale

to describe whether a solution is acidic or
basic (the opposite of acidic)

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Acids and Bases

• An acid is any substance that increases

the H+ concentration of a solution
When HCl dissolves in water,
HCl H+ + Cl-

• A base is any substance that reduces the

H+ concentration of a solution
When NaOH dissolves in water,
NaOH Na+ + OH-

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The pH Scale

• In any aqueous solution at 25°C the product of

[H+]and [OH–] is constant and can be written as
[H+ ][OH– ] = 10–14

• The pH of a solution is defined by the negative

logarithm of H+ concentration, written as
pH = –log [H+ ]

• For a neutral aqueous solution, [H+ ] is

10–7 ,
pH = –(–7) = 7
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The pH Scale

• The concentrations of
H+ and OH- are
measured on a pH
scale

• pH neutral=7, the scale

goes from 0-14

• pH= -log [H+]

As [H+] increases, pH
decreases
As [H+] decreases, pH
increases
• Acidic solutions have pH values less than 7

• Basic solutions have pH values greater than 7

• Most biological fluids

have pH values in the
range of 6 to 8

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Buffers

• Buffers are substances that minimize changes

in concentrations of H+ and OH– in a solution

• Most buffers consist of an acid-base pair that

reversibly combines with H+

• The pH of human blood is very close to7.4,

which is slightly basic. A person cannot
survive for more than a few minutes if the
blood pH drops to 7 or rises to 7.8.

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