The Significance of Water

Ville Kurri 11E

IB biology

Miss Howes

November 30, 2001

The Significance of Water

Heat:

Water has a high specific heat index. This means that water can absorb a lot of heat before it begins to get hot. This is why water is valuable to industries and in your car's radiator as a coolant. The high specific heat index of water also helps regulate the rate at which air changes temperature, which is why the temperature change between seasons is gradual rather than sudden, especially near the oceans. This is why water is ideal as insulation or a heat dissipation source. It holds more heat than just about anything.

Solvent:

Water is an excellent solvent. Many substances dissolve in water. Sugar, for example, is soluble in water. Since there is so much water in living organisms, water is a very important solvent. Substances such as glucose dissolve in the water of the blood, which then allow it to be carried around the human body. In plants, the most commonly transported substance is sucrose, which is also soluble in water.

Transparent:

Water is also significant because it is transparent. If water were not transparent then there would no be plants and fish living in the oceans, lakes, ...

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Solvent:

Transparent:

Water is also significant because it is transparent. If water were not transparent then there would no be plants and fish living in the oceans, lakes, and seas. Water being transparent, allows light to pass through to the fish and planets. It also

Transportation:

Water also serves as an excellent transport system, because water acts as a solvent, transporting, combining, and chemically breaking down substances. For example, blood in animals and sap in plants consist largely of water and serve to transport food and remove waste material. Water also plays a key role in the metabolic breakdown of such essential molecules as proteins and carbohydrates, called hydrolysis, goes on continually in living cells.

Coolant:

Water serves as an excellent coolant for animals. Animals bath in water and as the water evaporates off of their skin, it takes to heat will it, making you cooler. Humans also use water to cool them selves and to cool food products. An example of this would be: a African man stores his food in a pot and puts a smaller pot into the bigger one, in between the two pots he places moist sand. On top of the pots he places a wet towel. As the water evaporates from the towel and sand, it carries the heat with it.

Support:

Water serves a support for water lilies and other plants that rely on water to keep them afloat. Water also serves as a support for the overall support of water plants.

Habitat:

This is perhaps the most significant characteristic of water. Water serves as a habitat fro literally millions of different animals and plants. Since water has such a high heat index, this allows the fish and other flora and fauna to live since there isn’t a change in temperature. Also since when water freezes it is less dense, this allows the fish to live without the ice crushing them, it also serves as a good insulator against the cold.