5/13/2013

Water & Life

Chapter 3

You should be able to:

1. List and explain the four properties of water
that emerge as a result of its ability to form
hydrogen bonds
2. Distinguish between the following sets of
terms: hydrophobic and hydrophilic
substances; a solute, a solvent, and a solution
3. Define acid, base, and pH
4. Explain how buffers work

Water: The Molecule That Supports

All of Life
o Water is the biological medium on Earth
o All organisms require more water than any other substance
o Most cells are surroundedby water & cells themselves are
~7095% water
o The abundance of water is the main reason the Earth is
habitable
o Ghandi fasted for 21 days while
in his 70s
o Most Dr.s agree that healthy
humans can live up to 8 weeks
w/o food
o However, can only live 3-5 days
w/o water

The Blue Planet

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The polarity of water molecules results

in hydrogen bonding
o Oxygen is more electronegative than Hydrogen
o The electrons orbiting the nuclei will spend more
time around the Oxygen than the two Hydrogens
o The water molecule is a polar molecule: The
opposite ends have opposite charges
o Polarity allows water molecules to form hydrogen
bonds with each other

Animation: Water Structure

The charged regions of a polar water

molecule are attracted to oppositely charged
parts of neighboring molecules. Each
molecule can hydrogen bond to multiple
partners, and these associations are
constantly changing

Hydrogen
bond

Polar covalent
bonds

Four emergent properties of water

contribute to Earths fitness for life
o Based on its polarity
o Four of waters properties that facilitate an
environment for life are:
1. Cohesive behavior
2. Ability to moderate temperature
3. Expansion upon freezing
4. Versatility as a solvent

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1.

Cohesion

o Collectively, hydrogen bonds hold water

molecules together, a phenomenon called
cohesion

Liquid Water: The molecules are sticking together

Cohesion
oCohesion helps
the transport of
water against
gravity in plants
oAdhesion is an
attraction between
different
Direction
of water
substances,
movement

Adhesion

Water-conducting
cells

Cohesion
150 m

for example, between water

and plant cell walls

Animation: Water Transport

o Surface tension is a measure of how hard it is to break

the surface of a liquid, because the molecules that are at
the surface are sticking together
o Surface tension is related to cohesion

Note the top layer of

molecules is like a solid
layer/floor because the
molecules are sticking
together

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2.

Moderation of Temperature
o Water itself is very resistant to changes in
temperature
o Water absorbs heat from warmer air and
releases stored heat to cooler air
o Where much water is, temperatures will be
subject to fewer extremes because water can
absorb or release a large amount of heat with
only a slight change in its own temperature
o Ice can also resist prevent (much) heat loss
from adjacent areas
o Some living things actively use waters
properties to maintain temperature

Fig. 3-5

Despite having similar environmental factors, land

close to much water has more moderate temperatures.

Los Angeles
(Airport) 75
70s (F)
80s

San Bernardino
100
Riverside 96
Santa Ana
Palm Springs
84
106

Burbank
90

Santa Barbara 73

Pacific Ocean

90s
100s

San Diego 72
40 miles

Heat and Temperature

o Atoms and Molecules are always moving.
o Even in solid objects, the particles are moving a
little bit in (usually) random directions.
o Kinetic energy is the energy of motion
o Heat is a measure of the total amount of kinetic
energy due to molecular motion
o Temperature measures the intensity of heat due
to the average kinetic energy of molecules

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o The Celsius scale is a measure of temperature using

Celsius degrees (C) (Water freezes at 0C and boils at
100C, body temperature ~ 37C, and comfortable room
temperature ~20-25C)
o A calorie (cal) is the amount of heat (heat energy)
required to raise the temperature (average kinetic
energy/motion) of 1 g (~1 ml) of water by 1C
o The calories on food packages are actually
kilocalories (kcal), where 1 kcal = 1,000 cal
510 kcal = 510,000 calories!!!!!!!!
o The joule (J) is another unit of energy where
1 J = 0.239 cal, or 1 cal = 4.184 J

Waters High Specific Heat

o The specific heat of a substance is the amount of
heat that must be absorbed or lost for 1 g of that
substance to change its temperature by 1C
o The specific heat of water is 1 cal/g/C whereas
the specific heat of ethyl alcohol (the type of
alcohol in alcoholic beverages) is 0.6 cal/g/C.
o Water resists changing its temperature because of
its high specific heat
o It takes a lot of (absorbed) heat to make water
hotter, and a lot of heat loss (making other things
warmer) to make water colder.

o Waters high specific heat can be traced to

hydrogen bonding
o Heat is absorbed when hydrogen bonds break
o As water heats, hydrogen bonds break and energy (heat) is
absorbed

o Heat is released when hydrogen bonds form

o (The molecules are now moving less (stuck to their
neighbors), so that kinetic energy is released)

o The high specific heat of water minimizes

temperature fluctuations to within limits that permit
life
o Absorbs excess heat
o Releases heat when air temperature drops

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2b.

Evaporative Cooling

o Evaporation is transformation of a substance from

liquid to gas
o It is the individual molecules at the surface finally
breaking free and jumping into the air.
o Heat is absorbed by water molecules when hydrogen
bonds break

o Heat of vaporization is the heat energy a liquid

must absorb for 1 g to be converted to gas
o As a liquid evaporates, its remaining surface
cools, a process called evaporative cooling
o Because the breaking of the H- (and other)
bonds took away some of the heat energy
o The hottest molecules, those with the greatest
kinetic energy, are the most likely to leave as
gas
o Evaporative cooling of water helps stabilize
temperatures in organisms (sweat) and bodies
of water

3.

Insulation of Bodies of Water by

Floating Ice

o As heat energy is removed (substance gets

colder), the kinetic energy of molecular
movement goes away. The molecules come closer
together
o Ice floats in liquid water because hydrogen bonds
in ice are more ordered, making ice less dense
(While other materials contract when they solidify,
water expands due to hydrogen bonds!!!!!)
o The Hs & Os push away the adjacent Hs & Os,
eventually making a crystal shape
o Water reaches its greatest density at 4C

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Fig. 3-6a

Hydrogen
bond
Ice
Hydrogen bonds are stable

Liquid water
Hydrogen bonds break and re-form

If ice sank, all bodies of water

would eventually freeze solid,
making life impossible on Earth

4.

The Solvent of Life

o A solution is a liquid that is a homogeneous

(evenly-mixed) mixture of substances
o A solvent is the dissolving agent of a solution
o The solute is the substance that is dissolved
o An aqueous solution is one in which water is the
solvent
o Water is a versatile solvent due to its polarity,
which allows it to form hydrogen bonds easily

o When an ionic compound is dissolved in water,

each ion (atom/molecule) is surrounded by a
sphere of water molecules called a hydration
shell

Ionic compounds
DISSOLVE in water!!!!!!

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o Water can also dissolve compounds made

of nonionic polar molecules
o Even large polar molecules such as proteins
can dissolve in water if they have ionic and
polar regions

(a) Lysozyme molecule in a

nonaqueous environment

(b) Lysozyme molecule (purple) in an aqueous

environment

(c) Ionic and polar regions

on the proteins surface
attract water molecules.

Hydrophilic and Hydrophobic

Substances
o A hydrophilic substance is one that has an
affinity for water (interacts with the polar bonds)

Hydrophilic =
water loving!

o Water loving solutions include ionic compounds

(salts) and polar molecules

oA colloid is a stable suspension of fine particles in a

liquid
oToo big to dissolve, but can hang in place because of
the solvent (water) molecules around them
oColloids usually appear opaque or murky

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o A hydrophobic substance is
one that does not have an
affinity for water

Oil and Water

o Oil molecules are

hydrophobic because they
have relatively nonpolar
bonds
o They will be pushed away
by the interactions of water

I do
NOT like
water!!!

Mr. Hydrophobic

Water Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVCYlST6mYQ

Solute Concentration in Aqueous

Solutions
o Most biochemical reactions occur in water--some
with the water itself, some between 2+ other
chemicals dissolved in same water
o Chemical reactions depend on collisions of
molecules and therefore on the concentration of
solutes in an aqueous solution (how likely it is that
one chemical will come in contact with another).

o This likelihood is based on

1. How many atoms/molecules of each chemical are in the
solution
2. The volume (space) the chemicals have to move
around in
o 1 + 2 = Concentration

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o Numbers of molecules are usually measured in

moles, where 1 mole (mol) = 6.02 x 1023 particles
o 602,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 atoms/molecules

o Avogadros number and the unit dalton were

defined such that 6.02 x 1023 daltons = 1 g
o Molecular mass is the sum of all masses of all atoms in
a molecule
o Each element/compound has a particular mass (grams)
= 1 mole
o 1 mole of oxygen = ~16g
o 1mole of NaCl = ~58g
o 1 mole of water = ~18g

o Molarity (M) is the number of moles of solute per

liter of solution (1M = 1 mole/liter)

How many grams are in 6.02 x 1023 particles of Oxygen?

16g = 1 mole of Oxygen
Therefore, 16g of Oxygen contain 6.02 x 10 23 particles
How many moles are there in 32 g of Oxygen?
1 mole Oxygen = x moles
16 g
32 g
X=2

Possible Evolution of Life on Other

Planets with Water
o The remarkable properties of water support life
on Earth in many ways
o Astrobiologists seeking life on other planets are
concentrating their search on planets with water
o To date, more than 200 planets have been found
outside our solar system; one or two of them
contain water
o In our solar system, Mars has been found to
have water

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Acidic and basic conditions affect living

organisms
o A hydrogen atom in a hydrogen bond between two water
molecules can shift from one to the other:
o The hydrogen atom leaves its electron behind and is
transferred as a proton, or hydrogen ion (H+)
o The molecule with the extra proton is now a hydronium ion
(H3O+), though it is often represented as H+
o The molecule that lost the proton is now a hydroxide ion
(OH)
Hydrogen ion

Protons=8
Electrons=8

Protons=8
Electrons=8
Protons=9 Protons=7
Electrons=8 Electrons=8

o Water is in a state of dynamic equilibrium in

which water molecules dissociate at the
same rate at which they are being reformed
H

H
O

O
H

2H2O

O H
H

Hydronium
ion (H3O+)

O
H

Hydroxide
ion (OH)

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o Though statistically rare (1 in 554,000,000

molecules), the dissociation of water
molecules has a great effect on organisms
o Changes in concentrations of H+ and OH
can drastically affect the chemistry of a cell

Effects of Changes in pH
o Concentrations of H+ and OH are equal in pure water
o Adding certain solutes, called acids and bases,
modifies the concentrations of H+ and OH (and their
ratio)
o Acid: Increases H+ concentration (and/or removes
OH-)
o Base: Reduces H+ concentration (and/or add OH-)

o Biologists use something called the pH scale to

describe whether a solution is acidic or basic (the
opposite of acidic)

The pH Scale
o In any aqueous solution at 25C the product of H+ and
OH is constant and can be written as

[H+][OH] = 1014 (10-7 x 10-7)

o The pH of a solution is defined by the negative

logarithm (exponent of 10) of H+ concentration, written
as:
pH = log [H+]
o For a neutral aqueous solution
[H+] is 107 = (7) = 7
o When H+ = OH-, pH=7

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pH Scale
0
1

Battery acid

Gastric juice,
2 lemon juice

H+
H+
+
H
H+ OH
OH H+ H+
H+ H+

3 Vinegar, beer,
wine, cola
4 Tomato juice

Acidic
solution

Black coffee

Rainwater
6 Urine
OH

OH
OH

H+ H+
OH OH +
H+ H+ H

Each pH unit is 10x

different than the
next

Saliva
7 Pure water
Human blood, tears

Neutral
[H+] = [OH]

pH=4 has 10x more

H+ than pH=5, &
100x more H+ than
pH=6

8 Seawater

Neutral
solution

9
10
Milk of magnesia

OH
OH
OH H+ OH

OH OH

H+ OH

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Household ammonia
12

Basic
solution

Household
13 bleach
Oven cleaner
14

o Acidic solutions have pH values less than 7

o Basic solutions have pH values greater than
7
o Most biological fluids have pH values in the
range of 6 to 8

Buffers
o The internal pH of most living cells must remain close to
pH 7 (blood pH ~7.4, a person cannot survive for more
than a few minutes if the blood pH drops to 7 or rises to
7.8!!!!)
o Buffers are substances that minimize changes in
concentrations of H+ and OH in a solution
o Most buffers consist of an acid-base pair that reversibly
combines with H+
In your blood H2CO3 HCO3- + H+
Carbonic acid H+ acceptor
Weak base

Those protons can absorb extra OHs in basic solutions OR contribute

H+s to a base that absorbs them
The HCO3- can absorb extra H+s in
acidic solutions

Response to rise in pH
Response to drop in pH

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Current Event
o Human activities such as burning fossil fuels
aquatic organisms
o CO2 is released by fossil fuel combustion
and contributes to:
o

A warming of earth called the greenhouse effect

o Acidification of the oceans; this leads to a

decrease in the ability of corals to form calcified
reefs
CO2

H2O

H2CO3 HCO3- + H+
Weak
Acid

Base
(H+ acceptor)

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/ocean-acid-10445789

Polar vs. Non-polar - Review+

Polar molecule A molecule such as water with opposite charges
on different ends of the molecule electrons spend more time
around the electronegative atom
Ionic compound A compound formed by an ionic bond

Non-polar molecule A molecule such as a hydrocarbons in

which electrons are shared equally between the atoms which have
similar electronegativity
When an ionic compound such as NaCl is placed into water, what
occurs?

Polar vs. Non-polar - Review+

Polar molecule A molecule such as water with opposite charges
on different ends of the molecule electrons spend more time
around the electronegative atom
Ionic compound A compound formed by an ionic bond

Non-polar molecule A molecule such as a hydrocarbons in

which electrons are shared equally between the atoms which have
similar electronegativity
When an non-polar molecule such as oil is placed into water, what
occurs?

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Polar vs. Non-polar - Review

Ionic compounds (salts) can readily be dissolved in
water
Large non-ionic polar molecules can be dissolved in
water (if they have ionic and polar regions)
Non-polar substances do not readily dissolve in
water

Question??????
A mole of of salt (NaCl) weighs 58 g (Na ~23 g, Cl ~35 g). How many
grams of salt are needed to produce 1 L of a 3-molar (3M) solution?
Recall:
Molecular mass is the sum of all masses of all atoms in a molecule
Each element/compound has a particular mass (grams) = 1 mole
Molarity (M) is the number of moles of solute per liter of solution (1M =
1 mole/liter)
Molecular mass of NaCl = 58 g = 1 mole of NaCl
And
3M means 3 moles/L
So in 1L there are 3 moles of NaCl
If 1 mole of NaCl = 58 g, 3 moles of Nacl = 174 g

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