Difference between revisions of "Water"

Revision as of 16:07, March 30, 2008

Water is one of the the most important chemical compounds because no living creature can survive without it. More than half of the weight of most organisms is due to water. ^[1]

Water is an odorless, tasteless, colorless liquid. When people describe the flavor of water they are referring to impurities found in it (see mineral water, bottled water).

The chemical formula for water is H₂O, two hydrogen and one oxygen atom.

The shape of the water molecule is a shallow V, with the oxygen in the middle and having an angle of approximately 105°. The interactions between the atoms result in the oxygen atom having a partly negative charge and the hydrogen atoms having a partly positive charge. Thus the water molecule is a strong electrical dipole, which accounts for some of its properties.

Although we are accustomed to think of the word "solvent" in connection with organic solvents like gasoline or benzene, water is a powerful solvent, a fact that is sometimes overlooked because water is so familiar.

Water, compared to other compounds, has a number of unusual properties, such as expanding rather than contracting when it freezes. As noted by Lawrence Henderson in his 1913 book, The Fitness of the Environment, its ability to support life is directly related to some of these unusual properties.

• The normal boiling point of water is 212 degrees Fahrenheit (gaseous state).
• The normal melting point of water if 32 degrees Fahrenheit (liquid state).
• Below 32 degrees Fahrenheit, water is normally in the solid state.

See also

• Dihydrogen monoxide

References

1. ↑ "... a high fraction of the make up of an organism (50%) usually consists simply of liquid water" Stephen T. Abedon, Ph.D., Ohio State University