How is the structure of water responsible for some of water's unique characteristics?

Answer 1

Hydrogen bonding of Water molecules: Due to the polar covalent bonds that hold a water molecule together, Hydrogen bonds form where the negative Oxygens and the positive Hydrogens are located.

The results of these bonds are as follows:

1. Cohesion: is the sticking together of similar molecules. Water is very cohesive. This allows water to be pulled along a pathway with relative ease.

2. Surface Tension: cohesion allows water to pull together and form droplets or form an interface between it and other surfaces. The measure of how hard it is to break this interface is its surface tension.
Water allows materials to rest upon it if the surface tension is not broken. Pollen, dust, water insects, and other biological materials are able to remain on the surface of the water because of this tension.
3. Adhesion: The sticking of one substance to another. Water is a good adhesive. It will cling on to many objects and act as a glue. Capillary Action is an example of cohesion and adhesion working together to move water up a thin tube.

4. Imbibition: The process of soaking into a hydrophilic substance. Water being taken into a sponge, into a seed, into paper towels.


5. High Specific Heat: Specific heat of a substance is the heat needed (gained or lost) to change the temperature of 1g. of a substance 1degree Celsius. Heat is the total quantity of kinetic energy due to molecular motion. Temperature measures the intensity of the average kinetic energy of the molecules.Heat and temperature are not the same thing. A Kilocalorie or large C equals 1,000 small calories.It takes 1,000 calories to raise 1,000g. of water 1 degree C. Nutritional Packaging has the calorie measurements in Kilocalories. One gram of Protein = 3 calories. This means 3,000 small calories or 3 Kilocalories.
This high specific heat allows water to act as a heat sink. Water will retain its temperature after absorbing large amounts of heat, and retain its temperature after losing equally large amounts of heat. The reason for this is that Hydrogen bonds must absorb heat to break. They must release heat when they form.The Ocean acts as a tremendous heat sink to moderate the earth's temperature.

6. High Heat of Vaporization: Water must absorb a certain amount of additional heat to change from a liquid into a gas. This extra heat is called heat of vaporization. In humans, this value is 576 cal/g. This results in evaporative cooling of the surface. Alcohol has a value of 237cal/g. and chloroform 59cal/g.
As one can see water removes much more heat from a surface upon evaporation than does either alcohol or chloroform.

7. Freezing and Expansion of Water: Water is most dense at 4 degrees C. At ) degrees C. it is 10% less dense. Ice floats because maximum Hydrogen bonding occurs at 0 degrees C.



8. Versatile Solvent: Water is a major solvent in nature. When water and another substance is mixed the resulting solution is called an aqueous solution. Any solution contains the following parts:
Solute( what's being dissolved) + Solvent ( what is doing the dissolving) = Solution.

Answer 2

Water is highly polarized molecule with a strongly negatively end on the oxygen and a strongly positive base on the two hydrogens. You can think of this as a "triangle". One effect of this that this semi-ionic nature makes water a good solvent for many ionic compounds. Another effect of this that some hydrogen ions actually detatch from their molecules and become associated with others, so if we had a powerful enough microscope, besides viewing H-O-H, we would see an H3O+ molecule surrounded by other molecules with the oxygen ordered towards the molecule, and also an OH- molecule surrounded by other molecules with the hydrogen end ordered towards the molecule. The whole idea of acid and base behavior derives from this.

Another facet of this structuring is water's unusual density behavior as it approaches it's freezing point, and even that ice is LIGHTER than water. Very few compounds make that claim.

Answer 3

The key to all of water's unique characteristics is in its "hydrogen bonding."
The structure of the water molecule is 2 hydrogen atoms and 1 oxygen atom. However, the atoms are not evenly charged. This causes the larger oxygen atom to "push" the smaller hydrogen atoms away causing a polar molecule (it looks kinda like Mickey Mouse)
Then, the hydrogen atoms are attracted to the oppositlely charged oxygen atoms of other water molecules. (I can't remember right now which charge is which).
This causes a very strong but flexible bond between water molecules. It is responsible for waters high specific heat, high surface tension, solvent, and cohesion properties.

Answer 4

The best readily understandable explanation I have seen is on the Wikipedia (see the reference below to Hydrogen Bonds). Water's hydrogen bonds and their arrangement are responsible for waters high boiling point, the crystalline structure of water, and the fact that ice floats.

Answer 5

I agree...maybe 10. The text is good in most parts, but the order is a little strange and there isn't really any transition between ideas. You need to use the first paragraph to let us know what the overall point it.

Answer 6

1. Cohesion: is the sticking together of similar molecules. Water is very cohesive. This allows water to be pulled along a pathway with relative ease.

2. Surface Tension: cohesion allows water to pull together and form droplets or form an interface between it and other surfaces. The measure of how hard it is to break this interface is its surface tension.
Water allows materials to rest upon it if the surface tension is not broken. Pollen, dust, water insects, and other biological materials are able to remain on the surface of the water because of this tension.
3. Adhesion: The sticking of one substance to another. Water is a good adhesive. It will cling on to many objects and act as a glue. Capillary Action is an example of cohesion and adhesion working together to move water up a thin tube.

4. Imbibition: The process of soaking into a hydrophilic substance. Water being taken into a sponge, into a seed, into paper towels.


5. High Specific Heat: Specific heat of a substance is the heat needed (gained or lost) to change the temperature of 1g. of a substance 1degree Celsius. Heat is the total quantity of kinetic energy due to molecular motion. Temperature measures the intensity of the average kinetic energy of the molecules.Heat and temperature are not the same thing. A Kilocalorie or large C equals 1,000 small calories.It takes 1,000 calories to raise 1,000g. of water 1 degree C. Nutritional Packaging has the calorie measurements in Kilocalories. One gram of Protein = 3 calories. This means 3,000 small calories or 3 Kilocalories.
This high specific heat allows water to act as a heat sink. Water will retain its temperature after absorbing large amounts of heat, and retain its temperature after losing equally large amounts of heat. The reason for this is that Hydrogen bonds must absorb heat to break. They must release heat when they form.The Ocean acts as a tremendous heat sink to moderate the earth's temperature.

6. High Heat of Vaporization: Water must absorb a certain amount of additional heat to change from a liquid into a gas. This extra heat is called heat of vaporization. In humans, this value is 576 cal/g. This results in evaporative cooling of the surface. Alcohol has a value of 237cal/g. and chloroform 59cal/g.
As one can see water removes much more heat from a surface upon evaporation than does either alcohol or chloroform.

7. Freezing and Expansion of Water: Water is most dense at 4 degrees C. At ) degrees C. it is 10% less dense. Ice floats because maximum Hydrogen bonding occurs at 0 degrees C.

Answer 7

The structure of water has everything to do with its uniqueness. We base almost everything on it, measurements of temperature, density, weight, volume, etc.

Answer 8

It is the 105 degree angle between the oxygens (that are connected to H). Most angles are some power of 360.

Answer 9

It's all about the polar bond.

Answer 10

ummm its really wet