Experiment No.

2
Water and its Properties

Name: Date Submitted:

Year and Sec: Date Performed:
Group No. 1 Score:

Objectives:

1. To understand the uses of water as a solvent and as a medium for biochemical

reactions.
2. Describe some of the properties of water, and relate them to hydrogen bonding.
3. Discover the unique properties of water?

Theory

Water is important to all living systems. It serves as a natural solvent for mineral ions and
other substances. It is also the dispersion medium for colloidal cells like protoplasm. It
serves as a medium for most biochemical reactions, and is the most abundant component
of cells. Except for bone tissues and enamel, water constitutes about 70% of the human
body.

Materials:

NaCl Sugar Gelatin

Margarine Ethanol Acetone
citric acid powder NaHCO3
Water powder

Procedure

1. Water as a universal solvent

a. Put about 0.5 grams of the following substances into six separate test tubes: NaCl,
sugar, gelatin, margarine, ethanol.

b. Add 1 mL water to each test tube and shake vigorously to dissolve the substance. To
substances that did not dissolve, add another 1 mL of water and shake again. Add
another 1 mL to the solids that still not dissolve and shake again.

c. Repeat the solubility test using acetone instead of water.

2. Water as a good medium for biochemical reactions

a.
Mix about 0.1 gram of dry, powdered citric acid and sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) in
a dry test tube. Observe if a chemical reaction occurs.
b.
Add about 10 mL of water to the mixture and note what happens.
1
 DATA

1. Solubility of substances in water and Acetone

Substances Solubility in Water Solubility in Acetone

1. NaCl soluble insoluble (rock & iodized)

2. Sugar soluble (2mL) insoluble

3. Gelatin soluble (2mL) insoluble

4. Margarine insoluble partly soluble

5. Ethanol soluble (with 1 miscible soluble (with 1 miscible

layer) layer)

Reaction of Citric Acid and Sodium Bicarbonate

When 0.12mL of citric acid & 0.2mL of sodium bicarbonate were mixed together, both
of the reactants joined and created clumps. They adhered to each other on very small
portions. And, when we added 10mL of distilled water, the solution started to bubble upward
and continued to show bubbles until all of the dry solute were dissolved.

GUIDE QUESTIONS:

1. Enumerate the different functions of water in living systems.

Water is known as the “universal solvent” since it dissolves many substances
compared to other fluids. Ions, sugars, amino acids, vitamins, and minerals are materials in
those solutes that the water dissolves easily because of its hydrogen and oxygen molecules.
Water functions as a transportation vehicle. The blood, a primary transport fluid in the human
body, contains mostly water. The blood includes proteins, glucose, electrolytes, metabolic
waste products, and more that are transported to cells and other body parts to supply
nutrients and essential functions. Water is the main component of the fluids in our body that
lubricate and protect tissues and organs. Water regulates body temperature by storing and
distributing heat in all places in the body. It has a high heat capacity which gets a lot of
external energy to raise its temperature.

2. Water as a good medium for biochemical reactions.

Water is used as an excellent medium for biochemical reactions since it can store a
large amount of heat, is electrically neutral, and has a pH of 7.0. Enzymes, proteins that
perform specific chemical reactions, conduct in the human body which the medium
(environment) is water. Moreover, water acts as an agent to break and form bonds in many
enzymatic reactions.

3. Properties of Water Solutions

A solution consists of a solute dissolved in a solvent. As for the water solution, it

2
contains water as the solvent, which is one of the dissolving mediums in the experiment.
Some of the properties of water solutions are:
- Water is a good solvent because the molecules are polar.
- Nonelectrolytes are substances whose water solutions do not conduct electricity.
- Electrolytes are substances in which the solute dissolves in water and conducts electricity.
-The oxygen atoms have a partial negative charge.
- The hydrogen atoms have a partial positive charge.

ILLUSTRATION:

GENERALIZATION:

After the experiment is complete, we know which substances are soluble and
insoluble, and we have a better understanding of the significance of water in our daily lives.
When we came to a conclusion, the experiment's findings demonstrated how water is the
universal solvent because all of the solutes we used, including NaCl, sugar, gelatin, and
ethanol, dissolved in it. The only exception is margarine, which is insoluble in water but
partially soluble in acetone. In terms of ethanol, it is not only soluble in both acetone and
water, but it is also miscible, which indicates that the two substances do mix. Citric acid and
sodium bicarbonate were also dissolved after adding 10 mL of water. Regarding the use of
acetone as a solvent, it is evident that the majority of the solutes used cannot dissolve, and
it also shows how acetone differs significantly from water. This experiment clearly
demonstrates the importance of water, not only because it has distinct properties that set it
apart from acetone but also because many of the chemical processes that sustain life rely
on the interaction of molecules of water with dissolved substances.

REFERENCES

4.1: General Properties of Aqueous Solutions. (2014, November 18). Chemistry LibreTexts.
https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/General_Chemistry/Map%3A_Chemistry_-
_The_Central_Science_(Brown_et_al.)/04%3A_Reactions_in_Aqueous_Solution/
4.01%3A_General_Properties_of_Aqueous_Solutions
7.2: Functions of Water. (2020, April 6). Medicine LibreTexts.
https://med.libretexts.org/Courses/Metropolitan_State_University_of_Denver/
Introduction_to_Nutrition_(Diker)/
07%3A_Nutrients_Important_to_Fluid_and_Electrolyte_Balance/
7.02%3A_Waters_Importance_to_Vitality
3
Hanson, L. (2013). Properties Of Aqueous Solutions [YouTube Video]. In YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wipxSaIJl4