Biological_Significance_Of_Water

Biological Significance Of Water The Biological Significance of Water Water is the basis for life. Fortunately, it is the most available compound on earth. The compound is made up of the two different elements: hydrogen and oxygen. Water has a formula of H2O. Two hydrogen atoms are combined with an oxygen atom by sharing electrons via a process called covalent bonding. It is polarised and the molecules form weak hydrogen bonds between them selves Although it is a simple compound it has a complex set of properties. It has been argued that nearly everything about water is somehow unusual or contradictory. For example, liquid water contracts when cooled until it reaches a temperature of around 4°C. This is the temperature where it reaches its maximum density. When the temperature drops below 4°C it begins to expand. This continues even when it changes state into ice. This is due to the more open arrangement of the water molecules in the ‘ice lattice’. This explains why ice floats; ice is less dense than water. It is also why pond and sea life can survive underneath a thick layer of ice. The surface ice water, molecules, hydrogen, ice, temperature, bonds, surface, form, even, about, compound, below, very, two, substances, stable, salt, results, reactions, reaches, pond, oxygen, orientated, needed, liquid, life, ions, important, high, heat, floats, expand, example, energy, dissolved