Water is a unique molecule that is imperative in sustaining life on Earth.

It can naturally be found in all three states of matter and is the most abundant molecule on Earths surface. It has many unique chemical and physical properties that make life on Earth possible such as: ability to float as a solid, high specific heat, and its surface tension. A physical property of water that makes life on Earth possible is its ability to float as a solid. For an object to float, it must be less dense than the substance(s) it is placed in. Solid water floats because it is about nine-percent less dense than liquid water. This property isnt common in most other liquids. When water gets colder than four degrees Celsius or forty degrees Fahrenheit, its hydrogen bonds connecting the water molecules adjust resulting in a crystal lattice. Once the temperature is less than or equal to zero degrees Celsius or thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit, the crystal lattice is completely formed. This is known as the freezing point of water. This property is vital for aquatic life. Normally, bodies of water freeze topto-bottom creating an insulating sheet between the outside air and the water beneath it. When spring comes and the top sheet of ice melts, it sinks to the bottom of the lake which helps circulate the water throughout the lake. This allows the circulation of things like oxygen and nutrients. If lakes froze bottomup, the nutrients and oxygen wouldnt be able to circulate restricting survival in the lake. A chemical property of water is its high specific heat. Specific heat is the amount of heat a substance must absorb to increase one gram of it by one degree Celsius. If the substance has a high specific heat, then further heat must be absorbed before it rises by one degree. Since waters chemical structure allows it such a high specific heat, it also means water cools slowly and it has a high boiling point. This helps control the absorption of the sun's heat energy, which moderates the global climate. For example, a desert ecosystem has relatively low quantities of water so its day and night temperatures are extreme. This property makes water crucial for balancing Earths global climate. The oceans and other sources of water keep the global temperatures fairly stable. If water didnt have as high specific heat, all organisms would be living in extreme weather conditions. Lastly, another physical property of water is its surface tension. Surface tension is the attraction of molecules to each other on a liquid's surface. The

molecules form a hydrogen bond which fabricates a barrier between the air and the liquid. The reason is in a volume of water, every molecule is being pulled in every direction because of its attraction to the neighboring molecules. This results in a net force of zero. The molecules at the surface dont have molecules neighboring them on all sides; thus, are heaved inwards. Surface tension is responsible for the beading of water on plants leaves. This property affects the functioning of living organisms because it enables insects to walk across water, even though they are denser, without breaking its surface. This allows them to reproduce and feed in the water.