Question

Which of the following would most likely happen if water did not form hydrogen bonds? (2 points)

Answer 1

The answer choices for this question are:

A) Water would exist only as a solid.

B) Water would be able to dissolve all ionic compounds.

C) Water would not expand when it freezes.

D) Water would not exist on Earth.

The right answer is the option C) Water would not expand when if freezes.

Explanation:

Expansion of water when it freezes is an atypical behavior because substances contract when they freeze with the correpondant increase in density.

But when water forms the ice crystals, the strong hydrogen bonds do not permit an arrangement in which the molecules of water are closer and so they occupy more space (more volume). The length of the hydrogen bonds limits the distance between each water molecule. So, these bonds are the responsible of the expansion of water as it freezes.