Ten Properties of Water

1. It's colorless;
2. It's tasteless;
3. It's odorless;
4. It feels wet;
5. It's distinctive in sound when dripping from a
faucet or crashing as a wave;
6. It dissolves nearly everything;
7. It exists in three forms: liquid, solid, gas;
8. It can absorb a large amount of heat;
9. It sticks together into beads or drops;
10. It's part of every living organism on the planet.
 Chemical Properties of Water
 Water is a polar molecule

The atomic structure of a water molecule consists of two hydrogen (H) atoms joined to one
oxygen (O) atom. The unique way in which the hydrogen atoms are attached to the oxygen
atom causes one side of the molecule to have a negative charge and the area in the opposite
direction to have a positive charge. The resulting polarity of charge causes molecules of water
to be attracted to each other forming strong molecular bonds.
 Water has a shape

 The polarity of water allows it to "hook up" with

other molecules, including itself. As shown in
the figure, water molecules can form hydrogen
bonds, which give shape to water as a whole.
One single water molecule can form bonds
with four other water molecules, and while
these bonds aren't particularly strong, the fact
that water can form so many of them gives
water its "sticky" nature.
When water is frozen its molecules arrange themselves in a particular highly
organized rigid geometric pattern that causes the mass of water to expand
and to decrease in density. The diagram above shows a slice through a mass
of ice that is one molecule wide.
In the liquid phase, water molecules arrange themselves into
small groups of joined particles. The fact that these arrangements
are small allows liquid water to move and flow.
Water in the form of a gas is highly charged with energy. This high energy
state causes the molecules to be always moving reducing the likelihood of
bonds between individual molecules from forming.
 Physical Properties of water

Water dissolves almost anything

 "Universal Solvent."
 The reason for water's excellent dissolving capability
relates to its polarity; water offers positive and
negative charges to which other atoms of molecules
can attach.

Water exists in three forms

• Water can be a liquid (water), a gas vapor (clouds), or a
solid (ice).
Water has a neutral pH
• pH is a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a substance.

• pH is defined as the negative logarithm of the concentration of hydrogen

ions in an aqueous solution.

The pH scale ranges from 0 to

14. The lower the pH the greater
the acidity. Conversely, the
higher the pH, the more alkaline
a substance.
Water has the highest latent heat of vaporization

• To increase the temperature of water, energy in the form of heat

must be added.
• This heat-energy is measured in calories. One calorie is the amount
of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1
degree.
• Thus, to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water from 0 degrees to
100 degrees would require 100 calories of heat.
• However, to change 1 gram of water from a liquid to a gas requires
540 calories. No change in temperature occurs; there is only a
change in the physical state of the water as it turns from a liquid to a
gas.
• The heat needed to change water from a liquid to a gas is called the
latent heat of vaporization.
• Water's exceptionally high latent heat of vaporization is what makes
water so hard to boil.
 Water has a high latent heat of fusion

 At the other end of the temperature spectrum, energy

removal is required to change water from a liquid state to
a solid state, i.e. ice.
 The temperature doesn't change but the physical state
does.
 The heat removal required to change water into ice is
called the latent heat of fusion.
 For 1 gram of water, 80 calories of heat must be
removed.
 This is why a lake doesn't freeze immediately even
though the temperature is 0 degrees C.
 Water has the highest latent heat of fusion, except for
ammonia.
 Water has a high heat capacity
 Water has the highest heat capacity of any liquid
or solid, except ammonia.
 The heat capacity of a substance is defined as
the amount of heat that is required to raise the
temperature of 1 gram of a substance by 1
degree.
 This amount of heat for water is defined as 1
calorie.
 This means that the heat capacity of all other
substances is lower, i.e. that it takes less than 1
calorie to raise the temperature of 1 gram of the
substance by 1 degree.
 Water has a high heat capacity

 water can absorb a tremendous amount of heat.

 For this reason, the oceans of the world tend to
vary in temperature much less than land.
 The average range of temperatures in the ocean
is from -2 degrees to 35 degrees C.
 On land, temperatures may vary anywhere from
-70 degrees to 57 degrees C.
 Compare also the moon, which has no water.
Temperatures here range from -155 degrees to
135 degrees C.
 Water has a high heat capacity

 Thus, water acts like a heat buffer for the globe.

 Its ability to absorb heat at one location and transport it

to another location is extremely important in moderating
the climate of our globe.

 This is because of the high heat capacity of water and its

ability to absorb and release tremendous amounts of
heat without changing temperature.
 Water has a high surface tension

The ability of water Water's high amount of cohesion

molecules to quickly makes it "sticky" such that across the
break and re-form air-water interface, a kind of "water
hydrogen bonds gives it barrier" is set up that allows things to
a property called float easier on the surface and causes
cohesion. water to form beads.
The adhesive bonding property of water molecules
allows for the formation of water droplets