Properties of Water

Water has many unique properties that make it one of the most common substances on earth. These properties include water’s three states of matter, high heat of vaporization, and polarity of water. Water’s three states of matter are liquid water, ice, and gas, or vapor. Liquid water is the most dense of the three, which is why ice can float on top of water. This is due to the hydrogen bonds in the ice being further apart than the hydrogen bonds in the water. It allows for fish to live in the arctic because the ice insulates the water below from freezing, even when the top freezes over (around 0℃). Water also has a high heat of vaporization, or the amount of heat it takes for water to be transformed from liquid to gas. Water’s high heat of vaporization allows water to absorb more heat before it evaporates, which helps control the world’s climate. This also leads to evaporative cooling, meaning that the heat that was used to break the hydrogen bonds is now gone from the water and the water left behind is now cooler. Finally, water is polar. Water has two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom, so the two hydrogen atoms (positively charged) bond with negatively charged atoms such as oxygen. The polarity of water results in hydrogen bonding, which is what makes water as diverse as it is. Many of water’s properties stem from it’s polarity, including its ability to be an excellent solvent.

Water acts as a medium for the metabolic processes of lives in many ways. For example, water can act as a medium for HCO₃. Known as bicarbonate, it is soluble in water, which allows it to act as a buffer for PH levels. When a substance such as blood gets too acidic, bicarbonate removes hydrogen ions from the blood, allowing for safe blood flow. Likewise, when blood gets too basic, the hydrogen ions are added back into the solution. This helps blood maintain equilibrium. The water allows the bicarbonate to separate and return to it’s original form. Without the water,