thjis question has been bothering me for ages!!
2007-10-19 07:38:49 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Earth Sciences & Geology
I don't get your question. Keep in mind that the shortages people talk about involve drinkable water. The ocean which is full of salt is not drinkable. So if you are asking why the ocean could not meet the drinking and agriculture needs that is why.
2007-10-19 07:42:24 · answer #1 · answered by Rich Z 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Pure oxygen would kill you so it is only because it is mixed with other gases in the atmosphere to dilute it that we can breath it. In its pure form it also acts very much like an acid.
Hydrogen does not support life and if there was just hydrogen in the air you would die of suffocation. It is highly explosive as well.
When the two combine to make water they become very stable. Thus we get a substance that promotes life and is safe.
Water in the oceans is not pure though. It of course contains salt but it also has many other trace elements in it.
But why worry about it requiring two elements? It is very rare that a single element on it's own is of any use to humans. Pure gold for example is so soft it has to be fortified with another metal to make it use able. It is the magic of mixing different substances that give us so many things. Just imagine trying to eat the individual ingredients of a cookie rather than mixing them and baking them first!
2007-10-19 22:02:46 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, water isn't actually "made". It is simply the most stable of compounds that hydrogen and oxygen can form. And since there is lots of hydrogen and tons of oxygen around in the universe, quite a bit of it becomes water. Not just on earth but everywhere.
Our need for water is simply the result of our evolution. If there was no water available but let's say liquid ammonia and evolution could still get beyond the molecular level and make biological life possible, we wouldn't care much about water but crave ammonia.
So the difficulty in your question is mostly one of overcoming anthropocentric arguments. One tip: don't ask questions which contain "we" or "us" or "I" and the world will look a lot more consistent to you than it probably does, right now.
2007-10-19 07:48:24 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
People need food as well, and most food is made of many substances.
"Pure" water is not a single substance, it is a combination of two elements. The only absolutely pure substance we need is oxygen gas. Everything else required is a mixture of one or more kinds of atoms, all arranged in thousands of different ways. Life is not simple, but a very complicated biochemical reaction.
2007-10-19 07:52:59 · answer #4 · answered by Roger S 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
all the hydrogen on the planet mixes with some of the oxygen to form water 2 parts to 1 and the word is elements...I FINK
2007-10-19 07:45:09 · answer #5 · answered by foxy 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Water is also known as H2O is made up of 2 elements: 2 atoms of Hydrogen and 1 atom of Oxygen; these 3 atoms are naturally combined to form 1 molecule of water.
Just go to this link if you want to know more about water: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water
Next time please make your questions clear by adding more details on your question
I hope this help.
2007-10-20 00:05:07 · answer #6 · answered by maple switzer 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Water is not made of two substances. It is a substance. Water molecules are composed of two elements -- hydrogen and oxygen. Why does this bother you?
2007-10-19 07:56:29 · answer #7 · answered by Sandy G 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Because the world wasn't made just for us. If it were, then it would be polute-resistant and, of course, the sea would be made of just pure water.
2007-10-19 07:42:48 · answer #8 · answered by The Crone 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Water *is* H2O.
If only it was an element.
2007-10-19 07:45:18 · answer #9 · answered by ? 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋