What is the significance of waters high specific heat

In cohesion, water molecules are attracted to each other because of hydrogen bonding , keeping the molecules together at the liquid-gas water-air interface, although there is no more room in the glass. Cohesion allows for the development of surface tension, the capacity of a substance to withstand being ruptured when placed under tension or stress. This is also why water forms droplets when placed on a dry surface rather than being flattened out by gravity.

When a small scrap of paper is placed onto the droplet of water, the paper floats on top of the water droplet even though paper is denser the mass per unit volume than the water. Cohesion and surface tension keep the hydrogen bonds of water molecules intact and support the item floating on the top.

Surface Tension : The weight of the needle is pulling the surface downward; at the same time, the surface tension is pulling it up, suspending it on the surface of the water and keeping it from sinking. Notice the indentation in the water around the needle.

This is because the water molecules are attracted to the charged glass walls of the capillary more than they are to each other and therefore adhere to it. This type of adhesion is called capillary action. Adhesion : Capillary action in a glass tube is caused by the adhesive forces exerted by the internal surface of the glass exceeding the cohesive forces between the water molecules themselves.

Why are cohesive and adhesive forces important for life? Cohesive and adhesive forces are important for the transport of water from the roots to the leaves in plants. This pull results from the tendency of water molecules being evaporated on the surface of the plant to stay connected to water molecules below them, and so they are pulled along.

Plants use this natural phenomenon to help transport water from their roots to their leaves. Without these properties of water, plants would be unable to receive the water and the dissolved minerals they require.

In another example, insects such as the water strider use the surface tension of water to stay afloat on the surface layer of water and even mate there. By convention, scientists refer to hydrogen ions and their concentration as if they were free in this state in liquid water.

The pH is calculated as the negative of the base 10 logarithm of this concentration:. Human cells and blood each maintain near-neutral pH. The pH of a solution indicates its acidity or basicity alkalinity. The pH scale is an inverse logarithm that ranges from 0 to anything below 7. Extremes in pH in either direction from 7.

The pH in cells 6. Non-neutral pH readings result from dissolving acids or bases in water. Using the negative logarithm to generate positive integers, high concentrations of hydrogen ions yield a low pH, and low concentrations a high pH. An example of a weak basic solution is seawater, which has a pH near 8. How can organisms whose bodies require a near-neutral pH ingest acidic and basic substances a human drinking orange juice, for example and survive?

Buffers are the key. When bicarbonate ions combine with free hydrogen ions and become carbonic acid, hydrogen ions are removed, moderating pH changes. Similarly, excess carbonic acid can be converted into carbon dioxide gas and exhaled through the lungs; this prevents too many free hydrogen ions from building up in the blood and dangerously reducing its pH; likewise, if too much OH — is introduced into the system, carbonic acid will combine with it to create bicarbonate, lowering the pH.

Antacids, which combat excess stomach acid, are another example of buffers. Privacy Policy. Skip to main content. The Chemical Foundation of Life. Recall that life uses four main biomolecules, and dehydration synthesis and hydrolysis reactions occur constantly. In osmosis, water diffuses through selectively permeable membranes to regions where the concentration of solute is higher hypertonic.

Osmosis is not the movement of the solute particles. A hypertonic solution has a higher concentration of solute than the solute in the cell. Water diffuses to the higher concentration of solute, so water diffuses out of the cell, and the cell shrivels up. One way to think of this is that water follows "salt," as salt is the most common biological solute.

When the solution is hypotonic to the cell, the concentration of solute outside the cell is less. The water diffuses to the higher concentration inside the cell and causes the cell to swell with water, at it may burst. What type of bonds are formed in the water molecule which contribute to its chemical properties in living systems? The bond between oxygen and hydrogen in water molecules involves the sharing of electrons in which the oxygen atom pulls the electrons towards it more than the hydrogen pulls the electron.

This results in a slight negative charge on the oxygen and a slight positive charge on the hydrogen. The bond is not ionic because electrons are not totally transferred, rather they are shared.

The correct answer is covalent bonds because they are the strongest of all bonds present in a water sample. Although hydrogen bonding is present in water it is not the strongest bond in a sample of water. The bonds that make up the water molecule themselves are strongest. Ionic bonds do not exist in water. Hydrogen bonds are the intermolecular forces that allow it to engage in cohesion.

Ionic bonds are strong bonds within a molecule between a cation and anion. Polar covalent bonds are bonds within a molecule in which there is a slight charge on the elements. Nonpolar covalent bonds are bonds within a molecule in which there is no charge on the elements. A compound that takes up ions. A compound that releases ions. Acidic compounds and solutions release hydrogen ions. Basic compounds and solutions release ions and take up hydrogen ions.

Because of their charge acidic compounds and solutions do not mix well with oil, which is nonpolar. If you've found an issue with this question, please let us know. With the help of the community we can continue to improve our educational resources.

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Your Infringement Notice may be forwarded to the party that made the content available or to third parties such as ChillingEffects. Thus, if you are not sure content located on or linked-to by the Website infringes your copyright, you should consider first contacting an attorney. When the temperature of water decreases, the hydrogen bonds are formed and release a considerable amount of energy.

Water has the highest specific heat capacity of any liquid. Specific heat is defined as the amount of heat one gram of a substance must absorb or lose to change its temperature by one degree Celsius.

For water, this amount is one calorie, or 4. Here's where specific heat comes in. Moving between phases for example, turning water from liquid into gas requires energy to break apart the hydrogen bonds joining the molecules together. Related Lessons. View All Related Lessons. Valeri Natole. Aaron Lauer. What Is Specific Heat? It takes a lot of energy to boil water. Image source: By Valeri Natole. Deena Hauze. Specific Heat of Water. Which examples below illustrate water's high specific heat?

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