CHAPTER 4

WATER AND ITS PROPERTIES

Structure of water
• It is shaped like a wide V, with its two hydrogen atoms joined to the
oxygen atom by single covalent bonds (an example of a strong bond)
• Oxygen is more electronegative than hydrogen which means they are
polar covalent bonds
• This unequal distribution of electrons makes water a polar molecule,
meaning that the two ends of the molecule have opposite charges
• The oxygen region of the molecule has a partial negative charge (δ-)
and the hydrogens have a partial positive charge (δ +).
• The slightly positive hydrogen of one molecule is attracted to the
slightly negative oxygen of a nearby molecule held together by a
hydrogen bond (an example of a weak bond)
• The hydrogen bonds form, break, and reform with great
frequency, each lasts only a few trillionths of a second
Properties of Water

1. Cohesion and adhesion

2. High specific heat capacity
3. High heat of vaporization
4. Water expands as it freezes
5. Its versatility as a solvent
Properties of Water
Cohesion and adhesion
Hydrogen bonds that hold water molecules
together : cohesion. The biological
importance of it is for transportation of
water and dissolved nutrients against
gravity in plants, water from root reaches
the leaves.
The clinging of one substance to another :
adhesion. Adhesion of water to the walls of
the cells helps counter the downward pull of
gravity.
Surface tension : a measure of how
difficult it is to stretch or break the surface
of a liquid. The ordered arrangement of
water molecules with its hydrogen bonds
makes the tough surface.
Water’s High Specific Heat Capacity
The stability of water to stabilize temperature stems from its
relatively high specific heat.
Specific heat of a substance is defined as the amount of heat that
must be absorbed or lost for 1 g of that substances to change its
temperature by 1oC.
The specific heat of water is 1 calorie/gram/oC which is unusually
high compared to other substances; minimize temperature changes
To break hydrogen bonds : heat must be absorbed
To form hydrogen bonds : heat is release
The biological importance :
1. Stabilizes air and sea temperature
2. Helps organisms to resist their own temperature changes
High heat of vaporization
The transformation from a liquid to a gas : vaporization
Heat of vaporization – the quantity of heat a liquid must absorb for
1 g of it to be converted from the liquid to the gaseous state.
To evaporate 1 g of water at 25oC, ~ 580 cal of heat is needed,
therefore help to moderate Earth’s climate.
When a liquid evaporates, the surface of the liquid that remains
behind cools down.
Its biological importance:
1. Contribute to the stability of temperature in lakes and ponds.
2. Prevent overheating in organisms
Water Expands When It Freezes
Water is less dense as a solid than as a liquid, that’s why
ice float in liquid water; water expand as its solidify.
As the temperature falls to 0oC, the water are no longer
moving and becomes solid.
The ability of ice to float because of the expansion of
water as it solidifies is an important factor in the fitness
of the environment.

Its biological importance is to prevent the water body

from become frozen during winter. When a deep body
of water cools, the floating ice insulates the liquid water
below, preventing it from freezing and allowing life to
exist under the frozen surface.

Ice floats and frozen benzene sinks

Floating ice and the fitness of the environment: ice fishing
Versatile Solvent
• Water is a versatile solvent as it dissolves
anything due to the polarity if the molecule;
however it is not a universal solvent
Example:
• Table salt, sodium chloride (NaCl), is placed in
water; the sodium (Na+, cation) and chloride
(Cl-, anion) ions are exposed to the solvent (H2O)
• The oxygen of the water molecules are negatively
charged and attracted to Na+
• The hydrogens are positively charged and
attracted to Cl- anions.
• As a result, water molecules surround the A crystal of table salt dissolving in water
individual Na+ and Cl- ions, separating and
shielding them from one another.
• The sphere of water molecules around each
dissolved ion is called a hydration shell
• Water eventually dissolves all the ions resulting a
solution of two solutes, Na+ and Cl-,
homogeneously mixed with water, the solvent.
Aqueous Solutions
An aqueous solution is one in which water is the solvent.
Water is not a universal but a very versatile solvent.
A liquid that is completely homogenous mixture of two or more
substances is called a solution.
The dissolving agent of a solution is the solvent.
The substances that is dissolved is the solute.
Example:
In the mixture of sugar and water; sugar is the solute, water is the
solvent and it makes sugar solution
Acid, base and pH scale

Acid : a substance that increases the hydrogen ion

concentration of a solution.
Example – Hydrochloric acid (HCl) is added to water,
hydrogen ion dissociate from chloride ions:
HCl  H+ + Cl-
The additional source of H+ (dissociation of water is another
source) results in the solution having more H+ than OH-.
Therefore, such solution is known as an acidic solution.
HCL is a strong acid because it dissociate completely in
water.
Base : a substance that reduces the hydrogen ion concentration of a
solution.
Some bases reduce the H+ concentration directly by accepting hydrogen
ions.
Example – Ammonia (NH3) acts as a base when the unshared electron
pair in nitrogen’s valence shell attracts a hydrogen ion from the solution,
resulting in an ammonium ion (NH4+)
NH3 + H+ ⇌ NH4+
Other bases reduces the H+ concentration by dissociating to form
hydroxide ions, which then combined with hydrogen ions in the solution
to form water.
NaOH  Na+ + OH-
In both cases, the base reduces the H+ concentration. Solutions with a
higher concentration of OH- than H+ are known as basic solution.
NaOH is a strong base because it dissociate completely in water.
Weak acid and weak base: reversibly release and accept back
hydrogen ions. It does not dissociate completely.
Example: Carbonic acid H2CO3 ⇌ HCO3- + H+
Ammonia NH3 + H+ ⇌ NH4+

A solution in which the H+ and OH- concentrations are equal

is said to be neutral.
The pH Scale

In any aqueous solution at 25oC, the product of the H+ and OH-

concentrations is constant at 10-14.
[H+][OH-] = 10-14
In neutral solution, at 25oC [H+] = 10-7 and [OH-] = 10-7
If enough acid is added to a solution to increase [H+] to 10-5M, the
[OH-] will decline by an equivalent amount to 10-9M.
(10-5 X 10-9 = 10-14)
Acid adds hydrogen ions to a solution and removes hydroxide ions
because of the tendency for H+ to combine with OH- to form water.
Base increases OH- and reducing H+ concentration by the formation
of water.
The pH scale

Compresses the range of H+ and OH-

concentrations by employing logarithms.
The pH of a solution is defined as the
negative logarithm (base 10) of the
hydrogen ion concentration:

pH = -log [H+]

Neutral aqueous solution, [H+] is 10-7M

- log 10-7 = -(-7) = 7

pH of a neutral aqueous solution is 7

pH of an acidic solution is <7
pH of a base solution is >7

Each pH unit represents a tenfold

difference in [H+] and [OH-].
Buffer
Substances that minimize changes in the concentrations of H+ and OH- in a
solution.

Buffering mechanism
It works by accepting hydrogen ions from the solution when they are in
excess and donating hydrogen ions to the solution when they have been
depleted.

Most buffer solutions contain a weak acid and its corresponding base, which
combine reversibly with hydrogen ions.

Example: Carbonic acid is one of the several buffers that contribute to pH

stability in human blood.
Response to a
rise in pH
H2CO3 ⇌ HCO3- + H+
H+ donor Response to a H+ acceptor Hydrogen
(acid) drop in pH (base) ion