Water exhibits unique characteristics, which donate to the suitability of Earth. These properties comprise cohesive behavior, expansion from freezing, the tendency to moderate temperature, and versatility as a solvent.
Cohesion refers to the tendency of the molecules of water to attract other molecules via hydrogen bonding. This behavior permits them to get transported upward against the gravity in the stems and roots of the plants.
Water moderate temperatures, as the water heats up gradually and cools down gradually. This tendency of water helps to steady the temperatures in the regions neat the water bodies as water can absorb heat at the time of the day and discharge heat at the time of night.
At the time of winter, large water bodies like lakes do not freeze solid as water expands when it freezes to ice. The ice floats to the surface, producing an insulating layer, which prevents the liquid water below from freezing. If water would have contracted due to freezing, then the ice would have sunk to the bottom of the huge water bodies, permitting the rest of the water in them to freeze too.
Water is considered as a versatile solvent as it is a polar molecule and can dissolve other molecules without any difficulty. Several of the nutrients and other vital components needed to sustain life must be dissolved in water prior of getting entered inside the cells, and almost all of the chemical reactions essential for life take place in the water solutions.
