Date: Name:

SBI4U
Biochemistry Properties of Water
Solubility
 An important pneumonic to remember is like dissolves
like
o Ionic and polar compounds will dissolve and/or
interact with other ionic and polar compounds
o Non-polar compounds will dissolve and/or interact
with other non-polar compounds

Water and its properties

 Water is especially important to biology
 Polar molecule that exhibits hydrogen bonding
 Naturally exists in its liquid state all over the planet
 Acts as a “universal solvent” and supports life through a number of its properties (see table
on the next page)

 In aqueous solutions (solutions where water is the solvent), solutes are generally divided
into two categories:
o Hydrophilic molecules: polar/charged molecules that are strongly attracted to
water
o Hydrophobic molecules: non-polar molecules that are not strongly attracted to
water
 The cohesion and adhesion of water is very important to the survival of plants
o Cohesion: hydrogen bonding between water molecules
o Adhesion: hydrogen bonding between water molecules and other polar molecules

SBI4U
Date: Name:

SBI4U