Show Why Water Is Biologically Important In Living Organisms And Why It's Important As An Environment For Them.

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Sara Moore                01/05/2007

Show Why Water Is Biologically Important In Living Organisms And Why It’s Important As An Environment For Them.

Water is essential to life itself, with out water, life on earth would not exist. Water is a major component of cells, normally forming between 70 and 95% of a cell. This means that we are made from approximately 80% water and some creatures such as jellyfish are made of up to 96% water. Water also provides an environment for organisms to live in, 75% of the earth is covered in water.

Only 1% of the world's water is usable to us. About 97% is salty seawater, and 2% is frozen in glaciers and polar ice caps. Thus that 1% of the world's water supply is a precious commodity necessary for our survival. Dehydration will kill us faster than starvation. Since the plants and animals we eat also depend on water, lack of it could cause both dehydration and starvation.

Water itself is a simple molecule made up of 2 hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom, H 0. The hydrogen and oxygen atoms are bonded covalently. The electrons are not shared equally, the oxygen molecules gets more that its fair share so is slightly negatively charged and the hydrogen gets less than its fair share so has a slightly negative charge. This unequal distribution of charge is called a dipole. The negative charge of the oxygen is attracted to the positive charge of the hydrogen. This is called a hydrogen bond which is much weaker than a covalent bond but still very effective.

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The hydrogen bonding makes the molecules more difficult to separate. The hydrogen bonds make it possible for water to be a liquid at normal room temperature where as other small molecules would exist as a gas.

Water is an unusual substance, mostly due to its hydrogen bonds; its properties allow it to act as a solvent, a reactant, as a molecule with cohesive properties, as an environment and as a temperature stabiliser.

Water can dissolve ions and polar molecules and can keep them in solution because of water's own polar properties. Substances that dissolve in water are known as hydrophilic ...

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