What are Waters 4 life supporting properties?
The four life supporting properties of water are high specific heat capacity, density, polarity and hydrogen bonding.
The properties of water include cohesion, adhesion, capillary action, surface tension, the ability to dissolve many substances, and high specific heat.
Selected physical properties of water | |
---|---|
melting point | 0.00 °C |
boiling point | 100.00 °C |
maximum density (at 3.98 °C) | 1.0000 grams per cubic centimetre |
density (25 °C) | 0.99701 grams per cubic centimetre |
The unique physical properties, including a high heat of vaporization, strong surface tension, high specific heat, and nearly universal solvent properties of water are also due to hydrogen bonding.
► THE PROPERTIES OF WATER
Water has no taste, colour or smell. Water exists in three states: solid, liquid and gas. Water is a solvent. Many substances dissolve in water.
- Polarity. A water molecule is slightly charged on both ends. ...
- Cohesion. Hydrogen bonds hold water molecules together, as seen in the picture above. ...
- Adhesion. ...
- High Specific Heat.
The five main properties of water are its high polarity, high specific heat, high heat of vaporization, low density as a solid, and attraction to other polar molecules.
- Color – pure water is colorless; colored water can indicate pollution. ...
- Turbidity – pure water is clear and does not absorb light. ...
- Taste and odor – pure water is always tasteless and odorless.
These include: Cohesion, Adhesion, High surface tension, High specific heat, High Heat of vaporization, and the fact that ice floats (Ice is less dense as a solid than liquid water). For each of these properties, we discuss how they impact living creatures on Earth.
Discussion of the properties of water that make it essential to life as we know it: polarity, "universal" solvent, high heat capacity, high heat of vaporization, cohesion, adhesion and lower density when frozen.
Why are properties of water important?
Water's extensive capability to dissolve a variety of molecules has earned it the designation of “universal solvent,” and it is this ability that makes water such an invaluable life-sustaining force. On a biological level, water's role as a solvent helps cells transport and use substances like oxygen or nutrients.
Water molecules exist in two forms — different, but with almost identical physical parameters. Researchers refer to these two forms as ortho-water and para-water. Now, a new study has mapped their different properties.

Familiar examples of physical properties include density, color, hardness, melting and boiling points, and electrical conductivity.
Physical Properties of Matter
A physical property is an attribute of matter that is independent of its chemical composition. Density, colour, hardness, melting and boiling points, and electrical conductivity are all examples of physical properties.
Water molecules are polar, so they form hydrogen bonds. This gives water unique properties, such as a relatively high boiling point, high specific heat, cohesion, adhesion and density.
- Water has a high specific heat. ...
- Water in a pure state has a neutral pH. ...
- Water conducts heat more easily than any liquid except mercury. ...
- Water molecules exist in liquid form over an important range of temperature from 0 - 100° Celsius. ...
- Water is a universal solvent.
Cohesion is what we call the ability of water to attract other water molecules. It is one of its most important properties. Water has a high polarity, and it gives it the ability to being attracted to other water molecules. These molecules are held together by the hydrogen bonds in water.
The measurement of alkalinity and pH is needed to determine the corrosivity of the water. The pH of pure water (H20) is 7 at 25 °C, but when exposed to the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere this equilibrium results in a pH of approximately 5.2 because CO2 in the air dissolves in the water and forms carbonic acid.
Liquid water is found in bodies of water, such as an ocean, sea, lake, river, stream, canal, pond, or puddle. The majority of water on Earth is seawater. Water is also present in the atmosphere in solid, liquid, and vapor states. It also exists as groundwater in aquifers.
Water can occur in three states: solid (ice), liquid or gas (vapor).
What are the 4 classifications of water?
- Surface water.
- Groundwater.
- Wastewater.
- Strom water.
- There is the same amount of water on Earth as there was when the Earth was formed. ...
- Water is composed of two elements, Hydrogen and Oxygen. ...
- Nearly 97% of the world's water is salty or otherwise undrinkable. ...
- Water regulates the Earth's temperature.
- 1 . Potable water.
- 2 . Fresh water.
- 3 . Salt water.
- 4 . Brackish water.
- 5 . Hard water.
- 6 . Soft water.
- 7 . Distilled water.
- 8 . Wastewater.
Its hydrogen bonding causes its many unique properties, such as having a solid form less dense than its liquid form, a relatively high boiling point of 100 °C for its molar mass, and a high heat capacity.
- Universal solvent. Water can dissolve many ionic and polar molecules. ...
- Cohesion. Cohesion happens due to hydrogen bonding interactions water can stick to itself. ...
- Adhesion. Adhesion- water sticks to other surfaces. ...
- High Surface Tension. ...
- Capillary Action. ...
- High Specific Heat. ...
- Low Density as a Solid.
- Cohesion- attraction between water molecules. Reason: where negative oxygen molecules attract to positive hydrogen bonds to make H-bonds. ...
- Adhesion- attraction between water molecules and other substances. ...
- High Specific Heat. ...
- Less Dense when it Freezes. ...
- Universal Solvent.
- Acids are sour in taste.
- Acids furnish hydrogen ions in aqueous solution.
- Acid reacts with metal to form hydrogen gas.
- Acid reacts with carbonates and liberates carbon dioxide gas.
- Blue litmus turns red in acid.
- Water is polar. ...
- Water is an excellent solvent. ...
- Water has high heat capacity. ...
- Water has high heat of vaporization. ...
- Water has cohesive and adhesive properties. ...
- Water is less dense as a solid than as a liquid.
- Potable water should be colourless and odourless.
- It should be transparent.
- It should be free from impurities such as suspended solids.
- It should contain some minerals and salts, necessary for our body and some dissolved gases to add taste.
- It should be free from harmful microorganisms.
Bases taste bitter, feel slippery, and conduct electricity when dissolved in water. Indicator compounds such as litmus can be used to detect bases.
What are 5 acid properties?
- Aqueous solutions of acids are electrolytes, meaning that they conduct electrical current. ...
- Acids have a sour taste. ...
- Acids change the color of certain acid-base indicates. ...
- Acids react with active metals to yield hydrogen gas. ...
- Acids react with bases to produce a salt compound and water.
Water goes through autoionization, where one water molecule can donate a hydrogen atom to another. This forms hydroxide ions (OH-) and hydronium ions H3 O+. In this example, water acts both as the acid, donating hydrogen ions, and as the base, accepting hydrogen ions.