Water

The Universal Solvent

 A little bit about water
• Water is the biological medium on Earth
– Universal Solvent
– Solvent: the substance that the solute (salt) is dissovled in (water)
– Solute: substance (salt) that is dissolved in a liquid
– Solution: when solutes are uniformly distributed throughout a water
solvent
• All living organisms require water more than any other substance
• Most cells are surrounded by water, and cells themselves are
about 70-95% water
• The abundance of water is the main reason the Earth is habitable
 The Solvent of Life
• A solution is a liquid that is a homogeneous mixture of
substances
• A solvent is the dissolving agent of a solution
• The solute is the substance that is dissolved
• Water is a versatile solvent due to its polarity
• An aqueous solution is one in which water is the
solvent
Water
• Chemical Formula
• H2O
• How water is formed
• Covalent compound
• Which atom has a stronger pull for electrons?
• The one that is bigger…oxygen
• Electrons are shared but they spend more time around Oxygen
atom than the hydrogen atoms
• This makes water a…
• Polar Molecule
• Uneven sharing of electrons
• slight positive charge by hydrogens
• Slight negative charge by oxygen
• POLARITY
• What do opposites do?
• Water molecules are attracted to other water molecules
to form HYDROGEN BONDS
• Weak attraction between hydrogen atom of one molecule
and an oxygen, nitrogen or sulfur bond of another
molecule.
LE 3-2

Hydrogen
bonds
 Water as the Universal Solvent
• Water is an effective solvent because it readily forms
hydrogen bonds
• When an ionic compound is dissolved in water, each ion is
surrounded by a sphere of water molecules, a hydration
shell
• 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
LE 3-6

–
Na +
+
+ –
–
+
– –
Na+
–
+ +
Cl– Cl–
+ –
–
+
–
+
–
–
LE 3-7a

Lysozyme molecule
in a nonaqueous environment.
LE 3-7b

Lysozyme molecule in a aqueous environment.

 Properties of water

• Cohesive and Adhesive behavior

• Temperature moderation
• Expansion upon freezing
• Versatility as a solvent
• Transpiration:
– Evaporation of water through the leaves of plants
• “stomata” are the tiny pores in the leaves of plants
through which water escapes
• Cohesive and Adhesive behavior
• Cohesion: when similar molecules stick together (droplet
of water)
• hydrogen bonds hold water molecules together
• Cohesion helps the transport of water against gravity in plants
• Adhesion: when unlike molecules stick together (water on
glass)
• Adhesion of water to plant cell walls also helps to counter gravity
• How does water get from roots to the leaves of a tall
tree?
 Cohesion accounts for SURFACE
TENSION
• Surface tension is a measure of how hard it is
to break the surface of a liquid
 Moderation of Temperature
• Water absorbs heat from warmer air and releases
stored heat to cooler air
• Water can absorb or release a large amount of heat
with only a slight change in its own temperature
 Weather and Water
• Coastal Areas
– During the hot day, the ocean/lake will absorb energy
from the air so that it feels cooler
– At night, when the air is cooler, the water releases all
the stored energy, making it warmer at night
– “moderate” temperature
• Inland areas (no water nearby)
– During the hot day, there is NO water to absorb heat so
it is realllllyy hot (think desert)
– At night, no energy is release, so it gets very cold
 Heat and Temperature
• Kinetic energy is the energy of motion
• Heat is a measure of the total amount of kinetic energy
due to molecular motion
• Temperature measures the intensity of heat due to the
average kinetic energy of molecules
 Water’s High Specific Heat
• The specific heat of a substance is the amount of heat
that must be absorbed or lost for 1 gram of that
substance to change its temperature by 1ºC
• Water’s high specific heat minimizes temperature
fluctuations to within limits that permit life
– Heat is absorbed when hydrogen bonds break
– Heat is released when hydrogen bonds form
 Evaporative Cooling

• Evaporation is transformation of a substance from liquid to gas

• Heat of vaporization is the heat a liquid must absorb for 1 gram 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 and bodies of
water
• “Sweating” liquid to gas requires heat…this heat comes from inside our body
• What does the saying “It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity” mean?
• Humidity: water vapor in the air
• If there is more water in the air, it is harder for water molecules to evaporate off
your skin…so how do you feel?
– Hot and sticky!
 Insulation of Bodies of Water by
Floating Ice
• Ice floats in liquid water because hydrogen bonds in ice
are more “ordered,” making ice less dense
• If ice sank, all bodies of water would eventually freeze
solid, making life impossible on Earth
 Types of Attractions
• Covalent
• Ionic
• Hydrogen
• Van der Waals Forces
– Intermolecular force of attraction
– Due to uneven sharing of electrons in covalent bonds
– Slight attraction between oppositely charged regions of molecules that are closely packed
together
– Holds large molecules together
 Hydrophilic and Hydrophobic
Substances
• A hydrophilic substance is one that has an affinity for
water
• A hydrophobic substance is one that does not have an
affinity for water