Importance of Water: The Molecule that Supports Life

1. Chapter 3 Water and the Fitness of the Environment

2. Importance of water • Overview: The Molecule That Supports All of Life • Water is the biological medium here on Earth • All living organisms require water more than any other substance

3. Figure 3.1 Water Facts • Three-quarters of the Earth’s surface is submerged in water • The abundance of water is the main reason the Earth is habitable

4. Water Facts • The polarity of water molecules results in hydrogen bonding • The water molecule is a polar molecule

5. – Hydrogenbonds + H – + H + –  – + Figure 3.2 Water’s Polarity • The polarity of water molecules • Allows them to form hydrogen bonds with each other • Contributes to the various properties water exhibits

6. Properties of water • Six emergent properties of water contribute to Earth’s fitness for life • Cohesion/Adhesion • Surface tension • Temperature Moderation • High specific heat • Evaporative cooling • Universal solvent

7. Cohesion • Water molecules exhibit cohesion • Cohesion • Is the bonding of a high percentage of the molecules to neighboring water molecules • Is due to hydrogen bonding • Like molecules bonding to each other (water attracting other water molecules)

8. Water conducting cells 100 µm Figure 3.3 Cohesion • Cohesion • Helps pull water up through the microscopic vessels of plants (capillarity)

9. Figure 3.4 Surface Tension • Surface tension • Is a measure of how hard it is to break the surface of a liquid • Is related to cohesion

10. Moderation of Temperature • Water moderates air temperature • By absorbing heat from air that is warmer and releasing the stored heat to air that is cooler

11. Heat and Temperature • Kinetic energy • Is the energy of motion • Heat • Is a measure of the total amount of kinetic energy due to molecular motion • Temperature • Measures the intensity of heat

12. Water’s High Specific Heat • The specific heat of a substance • Is the amount of heat that must be absorbed or lost for 1 gram of that substance to change its temperature by 1ºC

13. Specific Heat • Water has a high specific heat which allows it to minimize temperature fluctuations to within limits that permit life • Heat is absorbed when hydrogen bonds break • Heat is released when hydrogen bonds form

14. Evaporative Cooling • Evaporation • Is the transformation of a substance from a liquid to a gas • Requires energy • Heat of vaporization • Is the quantity of heat a liquid must absorb for 1 gram of it to be converted from a liquid to a gas • 100oC steam has MORE HEAT than 100oC boiling water (540 calories)

15. Evaporative Cooling • Is due to water’s high heat of vaporization • Allows water to cool a surface • Sweating cools the body as heat energy from the body changes sweat into a gas

16. Insulation of Bodies of Water by Floating Ice • Solid water, or ice • Is less dense than liquid water • Floats in liquid water • Insulates water & organisms below ice layer

17. Hydrogen bond Liquid water Hydrogen bonds constantly break and re-form Ice Hydrogen bonds are stable Figure 3.5 Insulation of Bodies of Water by Floating Ice • The hydrogen bonds in ice • Are more “ordered” than in liquid water, making ice less dense (crystal lattice)

19. Insulation of Bodies of Water by Floating Ice • Since ice floats in water • Life can exist under the frozen surfaces of lakes and polar seas

20. The Solvent of Life • Water is a versatile solvent due to its polarity • It can form aqueous solutions • Called the universal solvent because so many substances dissolve in water

21. Negative oxygen regions of polar water molecules are attracted to sodium cations (Na+). – Na+ + + – + – – Positive hydrogen regions of water molecules cling to chloride anions (Cl–). Na+ – + + Cl – Cl– + – – + – + – – Figure 3.6 • The different regions of the polar water molecule can interact with ionic compounds called solutes and dissolve them

22. This oxygen is attracted to a slight positive charge on the lysozyme molecule. – + This oxygen is attracted to a slight negative charge on the lysozyme molecule. (c) Ionic and polar regions on the protein’sSurface attract water molecules. (b) Lysozyme molecule (purple) in an aqueous environment such as tears or saliva (a) Lysozyme molecule in a nonaqueous environment Figure 3.7 • Water can also interact with polar molecules such as proteins

23. Hydrophilic and Hydrophobic Substances • A hydrophobic substance • Does not have an affinity for water • Nonpolar • lipids • A hydrophilic substance • Has an affinity for water • Polar or ionic • Carbohydrates, salts

24. Solute Concentration in Aqueous Solutions • Since most biochemical reactions occur in water inside cells (aqueous environments) • It is important to learn to calculate the concentration of solutes in an aqueous solution

25. Moles and Molarity • A mole • Represents an exact number of molecules of a substance in a given mass • Molarity • Is the number of moles of solute per liter of solution

26. Acids and Bases • Dissociation of water molecules leads to acidic and basic conditions that affect living organisms • Organisms must maintain homeostasis in the pH of their internal and external environments

27. + – H H H + H H H H H Hydroxide ion (OH–) Hydronium ion (H3O+) Figure on p. 53 of water dissociating Effects of Changes in pH • Water can dissociate Into hydronium ions (H+ or H3O+)and hydroxide (OH-) ions • Changes in the concentration of these ions Can have a great affect on pH in living organisms

28. Acids and Bases • An acid • Is any substance that increases the hydrogen ion concentration of a solution • A base • Is any substance that reduces the hydrogen ion concentration of a solution (more OH- ions)

29. The pH Scale • Scale goes from 0-14 with 7 neutral • The pH of a solution Is determined by the relative concentration of hydrogen ions • Difference of 10X in hydrogen ion concentration between any two pH values • Acids have a higher number of H+ ions than a base • Acids produce H+ ion in solution • Bases produce OH- ions in solution

30. pH Scale 0 1 Battery acid 2 Digestive (stomach) juice, lemon juice Vinegar, beer, wine, cola 3 Increasingly Acidic [H+] > [OH–] 4 Tomato juice 5 Black coffee Rainwater 6 Urine Neutral [H+] = [OH–] 7 Pure water Human blood 8 Seawater 9 10 Increasingly Basic [H+] < [OH–] Milk of magnesia 11 Household ammonia 12 Household bleach 13 Oven cleaner 14 Figure 3.8 The pH scale and pH values of various aqueous solutions

31. Buffers • The internal pH of most living cells • Must remain close to pH 7 • Buffers • Are substances that minimize changes in the concentrations of hydrogen and hydroxide ions in a solution • Consist of an acid-base pair that reversibly combines with hydrogen ions • Made by organisms

32. Carbonic Acid Buffering system CO2 + H20 H2CO3 H+CO3- + H+ Carbonic Acid bicarbonate Reaction can go in the opposite direction Alkalosis Acidosis

33. The Threat of Acid Precipitation • Acid precipitation • Refers to rain, snow, or fog with a pH lower than pH 5.6 • Is caused primarily by the mixing of different pollutants with water in the air

34. 0 1 Moreacidic 2 3 Acidrain 4 5 Normalrain 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Morebasic 14 Figure 3.9 • Acid precipitation • Can damage life in Earth’s ecosystems

35. Hard water is any water containing an appreciable quantity of dissolved minerals. Soft water is treated water in which the only cation is sodium. The minerals in water give it a characteristic taste. Some natural mineral waters are highly sought for their flavor and the health benefits they may confer. Soft water, on the other hand, may taste salty and may not be suitable for drinking.

36. Soap is less effective in hard water because its reacts to form the calcium or magnesium salt of the organic acid of the soap. These salts are insoluble and form grayish soap scum, but no cleansing lather. Detergents, on the other hand, lather in both hard and soft water. Calcium and magnesium salts of the detergent's organic acids form, but these salts are soluble in water.

37. The fructose, or fruit sugar, reduces the rate of water absorption so cells don't get hydrated very quickly.