### Water Chemistry and Processes --- #### Big Question: What if the oceans were made of vegetable oil? --- 1. High Specific Heat Capacity Water can absorb or release a large amount of heat with only a small change in its temperature. This helps regulate Earth's climate and stabilizes temperatures in living organisms. --- 2. High Heat of Vaporization Water requires a significant amount of energy to transition from liquid to gas. This property plays a crucial role in cooling mechanisms, such as sweating and transpiration. --- 3. Cohesion Water molecules are attracted to each other through hydrogen bonding, resulting in high cohesion. This property contributes to surface tension, allowing small objects (like insects) to float on the surface of water. --- 4. Adhesion Water molecules are also attracted to other materials. This property allows water to climb up narrow tubes (capillary action), which is essential for transporting water in plants. --- 5. Density Anomaly Unlike most substances, water is less dense as a solid (ice) than as a liquid. This is due to the open lattice structure formed by hydrogen bonds in ice, allowing it to float on liquid water. --- 6. Universal Solvent Water can dissolve a wide range of substances due to its polarity, making it an essential medium for chemical reactions and transport of nutrients and waste in biological systems. --- 7. Transparency Water is transparent to visible light, allowing sunlight to penetrate through it. This property supports photosynthesis in aquatic ecosystems. --- 8. High Surface Tension Water has a high surface tension due to strong cohesive forces between its molecules. This property allows it to form droplets and enables small organisms to move across its surface. --- 9. Thermal Conductivity Water has a relatively high thermal conductivity, allowing it to transfer heat efficiently. This is important for maintaining uniform temperatures in living organisms and environments. --- 10. High Boiling and Freezing Points Compared to other molecules of similar size, water has unusually high boiling and freezing points due to strong hydrogen bonding. --- 11. Amphoteric Nature Water can act as both an acid and a base, participating in various chemical reactions as a reactant or a solvent. --- 12. High Dielectric Constant Water has a high dielectric constant, which reduces the electrostatic forces between charged particles, making it an effective medium for ionic reactions.