Water stabilizes tempts

● Compared with other molecules, water absorbs more heat

● Evaporation : conversion of a liquid to a gas by heat energy
● Ice is less dense than liquid water
● Condensation
○ Gas to liquid
● Liquefaction
Water has a high cohesive for
● Cohesion: ability of like molecules to stick together
● Provides surface tension
● Draws water up from roots of plants
Water has a high adhesive force
● Adhesion: ability of molecules to stick to other molecules (that’s why we get wet)
All biological reactions take place in water environment (aqueous)
● Water molecules (H2O) can separate into hydrogen ions (H+) and hydroxide ions
(OH-)
○ H2O ←→ (H+) + OH-
Acids
● Substances that release H+ when dissolved in water
Bases
● Substances that release OH- when dissolved in water
Neutral
● Balanced/Neutral
Acids and Bases
pH is a measure of the number of H+ in a solution; it is a measure the acidity
● The less the H+, the higher the pH value, the weaker the acid
● The more the H+, the lower the pH value, the stronger the acid
● pH 7 is neutral (pure water)
○ Most biological processes occur within narrow range of pH, around pH 7
Concentration
● Refers to the amount of a solute dissolved in a given volume of fluid
Salts
● Compounds produced by a reaction between an acid and a base
● EX: HCl (acid) + NaOH (base) → NaCl (salt) + H2O
● Salts dissolve easily in water because they are ionic
Buffers
● Solutions of chemicals (a weak acid or base and its salt) that can keep the pH of
a solution stable
Living organisms consist of the same molecules
Almost all molecules of life are built with carbon, oxygen, H atoms
Molecules consisting only of C and H atoms are called Hydrocarbon molecules
Molecules composed of C, H and other atoms are called organic molecules