We know that water is tasteless, odorless, and transparent. In small quantities, it is also colorless. However, when a large amount of water is observed, as in a lake or the ocean, it is actually light blue in color. The blue hue of water is an intrinsic property and is caused by selective absorption and scattering of white light. These and other properties of water depend on its chemical structure.The transparency of water is important for organisms that live in water. Because water is transparent, sunlight can pass through it. Sunlight is needed by water plants and other water organisms for photosynthesis.Chemical Structure of WaterEach molecule of water consists of one atom of oxygen and two atoms of hydrogen, so it has the chemical formula H2O. The arrangement of atoms in a water molecule explains many of water’s chemical properties. In each water molecule, the nucleus of the oxygen atom (with 8 positively charged protons) attracts electrons much more strongly than do the hydrogen nuclei (with only one positively charged proton). This results in a negative electrical charge near the oxygen atom (due to the "pull" of the negatively charged electrons toward the oxygen nucleus) and a positive electrical charge near the hydrogen atoms. A difference in electrical charge between different parts of a molecule is called polarity. A polar molecule is a molecule in which part of the molecule is positively charged and part of the molecule is negatively charged.
•Hydrogen Bonding-
Opposite electrical charges attract one another. Therefore, the positive part of one water molecule is attracted to the negative parts of other water molecules. Because of this attraction, bonds form between hydrogen and oxygen atoms of adjacent water molecules. This type of bond always involves a hydrogen atom, so it is called a hydrogen bond. Hydrogen bonds are bonds between molecules, and they are not as strong as bonds within molecules. Nonetheless, they help hold water molecules together.
•Sticky, Wet Water-
Water has some unusual properties due to its hydrogen bonds. One property is cohesion, the tendency for water molecules to stick together. The cohesive forces between water molecules are responsible for the phenomenon known as surface tension. The molecules at the surface do not have other like molecules on all sides of them and consequently they cohere more strongly to those directly associated with them on the surface. For example, if you drop a tiny amount of water onto a very smooth surface, the water molecules will stick together and form a droplet, rather than spread out over the surface. The same thing happens when water slowly drips from a leaky faucet. The water doesn't fall from the faucet as individual water molecules but as droplets of water.
•Density of Ice and Water-
The melting point of water is 0°C. Below this temperature, water is a solid (ice). Unlike most chemical substances, water in a solid state has a lower density than water in a liquid state. This is because water expands when it freezes. Again, hydrogen bonding is the reason. Hydrogen bonds cause water molecules to line up less efficiently in ice than in liquid water. As a result, water molecules are spaced farther apart in ice, giving ice a lower density than liquid water. A substance with lower density floats on a substance with higher density. This explains why ice floats on liquid water, whereas many other solids sink to the bottom of liquid water.In a large body of water, such as a lake or the ocean, the water with the greatest density always sinks to the bottom. Water is most dense at about 4°C. As a result, the water at the bottom of a lake or the ocean usually has temperature of about 4°C. In climates with cold winters, this layer of 4°C water insulates the bottom of a lake from freezing temperatures. Lake organisms such as fish can survive the winter by staying in this cold, but unfrozen, water at the bottom of the lake.
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