All About Water

Water is the most important to living organisms. It makes up 70 to 95 percent of most organisms. Water is flexible because it is polar. A polar molecule is a molecule with an unequal distribution of charge. That basically means one end of the molecule has a positive charge and on end has a negative charge. Salt will dissolve into water because polar molecules will dissolve other polar molecules. Hydrogen atoms attract to the oxygen atom because of hydrogen bonds. Water changes temperature slowly because it resists temperature change. Water therefore releases lots of energy in the form of heat when it cools. This property can keep cities warm or cool. Water is very important to cellular functions of aquatic organisms. Water is also able to carry substances in living organisms.

Water is less dense when it freezes and turns to ice when in its liquid form. That is why icebergs float in the sea.

Gay-Lussac and Biot ascend in a hot air balloon, 1...

Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac

English: Gravesite of the noted French scientist J...

A moving particle moves in a straight line until it collides with another particle. Diffusion is the net movement of particles from an area of high concentration to an area of lower concentration. It is a very slow process because it relies on the random motion of atoms and molecules. The three factors that affect diffusion are pressure, temperature and concentration. Pressure and temperature are both external forces. If temperature or pressures are increased, the diffusion rate will also increase. Dynamic equilibrium occurs in biological substances. For example, oxygen diffuses into the capillaries of the lungs. There is a higher concentration of oxygen in the air sacs of the lungs than in the capillaries.

Water is made of two hydrogen and one oxygen, so called H2O. A French chemist named Antoine Laurent Lavoisier said that water was not an element but rather a compound of...