ASPECTS OF BIOCHEMISTRY:

WATER
MS. SCOTT
BIOLOGY LECTURER
BSC (HONS.) BIOCHEMISTRY AND BIOLOGY
9TH SEPTEMBER 2019
YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO:

• 1.1 Discuss how the structure and properties of water relate

to the role that water plays as a medium of life;
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
You should be able to:
Describe the structure of a water molecule.
Describe hydrogen bonding between water molecules.
List the properties of water.
Explain how hydrogen bonding is responsible for the properties of
water.
List the roles of water in living organisms.
Explain the importance of water as an environment for organisms.
 WATER
• Water is essential to life as we know it.
• The human body is ~70% water; ~90% in plants.
• Water is a habitat for many organisms.
• Water is a reagent in photosynthesis, a process that takes place in
plants; that animals and humans depend on for food.
• Without water, plants, animals and humans would not be able to
survive.
STRUCTURE OF A WATER MOLECULE
 MAIN PROPERTY: WATER HAS POLARITY

• Water has a slight positive H atom and a slight negative O atom.

• Oxygen is more electronegative than Hydrogen.
• A separation of charge results (dipoles).
 MAIN PROPERTY: HYDROGEN BONDING

• Water molecules have hydrogen bonds between them.

• A hydrogen bond is the attractive force between the hydrogen
attached to an electronegative atom of one molecule and an
electronegative atom of a different molecule.
 RESULTANT PROPERTIES OF WATER

• Good solvent • Reactive

• High specific heat capacity • Density
• High latent heat of • Incompressible
vapourisation • High cohesion
• High latent heat of fusion
 WATER AS A GOOD SOLVENT

• Good solvent for charged substances for e.g.

Na+, Cl+
• Uncharged, polar substances also dissolve, but
not as readily.
 HIGH SPECIFIC HEAT CAPACITY

• The amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1kg

of water by 1oC.
• For water this is, 4181.3 J/(KG·K) (~4.2 J/(G⁰C).
• Limits fluctuations in temperature of organisms and the
aqueous environment.
 HIGH LATENT HEAT OF VAPOURISATION
• The measure of the heat energy required
to change liquid to gas (water to water
vapour).
• Inter-molecular forces must be broken;
therefore hydrogen bonds holding water
molecules together must be broken.
• Allows for cooling mechanism, and
maintenance of aquatic habitats.
 HIGH LATENT HEAT OF FUSION

• Latent heat of fusion is the heat energy required to melt a

solid.
• Also the amount of energy needed to convert liquid to solid.
• Reduces chances of fluctuations between ice and liquid in
living systems.
 REACTIVE
• Water also takes part in chemical reactions as a reagent.
• Water can ionize (protons (H+) and hydroxyl ions (OH-)).
• Useful for hydrolysis reactions and other essential life
processes e.g. photosynthesis.
 DENSITY ANOMALY
• Usually the solid state of matter is denser
than the liquid (due to tighter packaging). Ice
however is less dense than water.
• In ice, hydrogen bonds cause water molecules
to push apart further than in its liquid state.
• Therefore, liquid water has a greater mass
per unit volume (i.e. density).
• Density = mass/volume
 DENSITY ANOMALY
• As ice floats on water, it forms an insulating,
reducing the heat loss from the liquid water
below it to the cold atmosphere above.
• In so doing, it protects the organisms below
the water’s surface.
DENSITY ANOMALY
 DENSITY
• Water is more dense than oil and less dense
than milk.
• Also, pure water is 1.00 g/cm3 and salt
water is 1.02 g/cm3.
 DENSITY ANOMALY AND VISCOSITY

• Not only is water more dense as a liquid than in its solid

state, it is also a viscous liquid.
• Organisms are streamlined to withstand this viscosity.
 INCOMPRESSIBLE
• Water cannot be compressed; takes the
shape of its container.
• Useful for providing support e.g. turgidity
in plants; hydrostatic skeletons in animals;
aqueous and vitreous humour of eye;
cells are mainly water; blood (~80%
water)
 HIGH COHESION/ADHESION
• Hydrogen bonds hold water molecules closely to
each other.
• Cohesion – water is attracted to itself.
• Adhesion – water is attracted to something other
than itself.
• Cohesion gives rise to high surface tension of water.
• Allows for translocation of water through plant
(xylem)
 HIGH COHESION/ADHESION

• Surface tension is the property of a liquid that allows it to resist

an external force due its cohesive properties.
• Allows for insects to glide on water.
YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO:

• 1.1 Discuss how the structure and properties of water relate to the
role that water plays as a medium of life;
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
You should be able to:
Describe the structure of a water molecule.
Describe hydrogen bonding between water molecules.
List the properties of water.
Explain how hydrogen bonding is responsible for the properties of
water.
List the roles of water in living organisms.
Explain the importance of water as an environment for organisms.