SORSOGON STATE COLLEGE | AS 211 – CHEMISTRY FOR TECHNOLOGISTS MODULE 2

COMPOSITION AND
STRUCTURE OF WATER

INTRODUCTION
Life is believed to have originated in the aqueous solutions of the
world’s oceans, and living organisms depend on aqueous solutions, such
as blood and digestive juices, for biological processes. Indeed life as we
know it is dependent on water and perhaps most of the earth system
activities. Accordingly, about 75% of the Earth's surface is water. The
major constituent of the human body (over 65%) is water. This simple
molecule plays important roles in all kinds of processes. As Thales
pointed out that water is the material cause of all things.

THE COMPOSITION AND Figure 1. A water molecule is made up of two

STRUCTURE OF WATER hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. A single oxygen
atom contains six electrons in its outer shell, which can
hold a total of eight electrons. When two hydrogen
Water is a simple molecule consisting of one oxygen atom bonded to atoms are bound to an oxygen atom, the outer electron
two different hydrogen atoms. It is formed when one (1) oxygen atom shell of oxygen is filled.
forms a single covalent bond with two (2) separate hydrogen atoms.
Because of the higher electronegativity of the oxygen atom, the bonds
are polar covalent (polar bonds). The oxygen atom attracts the shared
electrons of the covalent bonds to a significantly greater extent than the
hydrogen atoms. This arrangement gives oxygen the two electrons it
needs to fill its outer shell and allows both hydrogen atoms to receive
the single electrons they need for their outer shell. (see Figure 1)
The pairs of electrons between the O & H atoms represents the O-H OH
Covalent bonds and the other two pairs of electrons represent the so Covalent Lone Pairs
called “Lone Pairs”. Lone pairs are the electrons that are not involved in Bonds
the covalent bonds. These lone pairs are very negative - containing two
negative electrons each. (see Figure 2)
The oxygen and hydrogen atoms share electrons but they don’t exactly
share evenly. Oxygen has eight protons in its nucleus and each hydrogen
has only one. Because oxygen’s nucleus has so many more protons, the
pull it has on the orbiting electrons is much greater than the pull exerted
by the much smaller hydrogen nuclei. As a result the electrons spend
Figure 2. This image shows the two OH Covalent
much greater amount of their time on the oxygen side of the water bonds and the two lobe pairs in a water molecule.
molecule. This creates a region of slightly negative charge on the
hydrogen side of water and a region of slightly positive on the hydrogen
side of the water. A molecule with uneven distribution of charge is
known as Polar Molecule. (see Figure 3)
Water is tetrahedral in shape in which the angle between electron pairs
(the H-O-H bond angle) is 109.5⁰ but because of the repulsive forces of
two lone pairs pushing two hydrogen atoms closer together, the result is
a distorted tetrahedral arrangement or bent structure with an H-O-H
angle of 104.5⁰.
The water molecule,
visualized three different
ways:
a) ball-and-stick model,
b) space-filling model, and FIGURE 3. Polar Water Molecule and
c) structural formula with its partial charges
partial charges.

Author | ERWIN CAPSA ESTREMERA Contributor/Editor | ALVIN ZAULDA GRULLA 2

SORSOGON STATE COLLEGE | AS 211 – CHEMISTRY FOR TECHNOLOGISTS MODULE 1

The bent shape of the water molecule is critical because the

polar O−HO−H bonds do not cancel one another and the molecule as a
whole is polar. Figure 4 illustrates the net polarity of the water molecule.
The oxygen is the negative end of the molecule, while the area between
the hydrogen atoms is the positive end of the molecule.
The polar nature of water allows it to demonstrate some unique
properties. Polar molecules attract one another by dipole-dipole forces
as the positive end of one molecule is attracted to the negative end of
the nearby molecule. In the case of water, the highly
polar O−HO−H bonds results in very little electron density around the
hydrogen atoms. Each hydrogen atom is strongly attracted to the lone-

Polarization of the electric

pair electrons on an adjacent oxygen atom. These are called Hydrogen

charge of the molecule

Bonds, a type of weal electrostatic attraction and are stronger than
conventional dipole-dipole forces. (see Figure 5)
Because each oxygen atom has two lone pairs, it can make hydrogen
bonds to the hydrogen atoms of two separate other molecules. The
figure below shows the result - an approximately tetrahedral geometry
around each oxygen atom consisting of two covalent bonds and two
hydrogen bonds.
Figure 4. Water is a polar molecule, as greater
electron density is found around the more
electronegative oxygen atom.

As a result of two covalent

bonds and two hydrogen
bonds, the geometry around
each oxygen atom is
approximately tetrahedral.

Water exists in gaseous, liquid, and solid state and consider as one of
the most plentiful and essential compounds. A tasteless and Figure 5. A hydrogen bond is the attraction
odorless liquid at room temperature, it has the important ability to between a lone pair of electrons on the oxygen
dissolve many other substances. Indeed, the versatility of water as atom of one molecule and the electron-deficient
hydrogen atom of a nearby molecule.
a solvent is essential to living organisms. In small quantities water
appears colorless, but water actually has an intrinsic blue color caused
by slight absorption of light at red wavelengths.

THE PHASES OF WATER

Similar to many other substances, water can take numerous forms. Its
liquid phase, the most common phase of water on Earth, is the form that
is generally meant by the word “water.”

Solid Phase (Ice)

The solid phase of water is known as ice and commonly takes the
structure of hard, amalgamated crystals, such as ice cubes, or of loosely Figure 6. Molecular structure of ice
accumulated granular crystals, such as snow. (see figure 6) Credits:http://tornado.sfsu.edu/Geosciences/classes/e260/DewPoint
Temperature/Activity%203%20Teacher%20Guide_%20It%27s%20J
ust%20a%20Phase.htm
Unlike most other substances, water’s solid form (ice) is less dense than

Author | ERWIN CAPSA ESTREMERA Contributor/Editor | ALVIN ZAULDA GRULLA 3

SORSOGON STATE COLLEGE | AS 211 – CHEMISTRY FOR TECHNOLOGISTS MODULE 1

its liquid form, as a result of the nature of its hexagonal packing within
its crystalline structure. This lattice contains more space than when the
molecules are in the liquid state. (see Figure 7)
As a naturally occurring crystalline inorganic solid with an ordered
structure, ice is considered to be a mineral. It possesses a regular
crystalline structure based on the molecular structure of water, which
consists of a single oxygen atom covalently bonded to two hydrogen
atoms: H-O-H.
The density of ice and water as a function of temperature. The fact the Figure 7. The hexagonal packing of water
density of ice is less than that of liquid water’s has the important molecules in its crystalline structure
consequence that ice floats. The solid form of most substances is denser
than the liquid phase; therefore, a block of a given solid will generally
sink in its corresponding liquid. However, a block of ice floats in liquid
water because ice is less dense than liquid water. The inset shows the
curve in more detail in the range of 0-10 degrees Celsius. Liquid water is
most dense at 4 degrees Celsius.

Liquid Phase (Water)

Because the molecules can slip and slide around one another, water
takes the shape of any container it is in. Despite the "hardness" of ice,
the spacing of water molecules per unit volume is actually greater than it
is for liquid water. Hence, ice is less dense than liquid water (which is
why ice cubes float). (see Figure 8)
This characteristic could not be predicted by its relationship to other,
gaseous hydrides of the oxygen family in the periodic table, such as
hydrogen sulfide. The elements surrounding oxygen in the periodic table
– nitrogen, fluorine, phosphorus, sulfur, and chlorine – all combine with Figure 8. Molecular structure of Water
hydrogen to produce gases under standard conditions. Water forms a Credits:http://tornado.sfsu.edu/Geosciences/classes/e260/DewPoint
Temperature/Activity%203%20Teacher%20Guide_%20It%27s%20J
liquid instead of a gas because oxygen is more electronegative than the ust%20a%20Phase.htm
surrounding elements, with the exception of fluorine. Oxygen attracts
electrons much more strongly than does hydrogen, resulting in a partial
positive charge on the hydrogen atoms and a partial negative charge on
the oxygen atom. The presence of such a charge on each of these atoms
gives a water molecule a net dipole moment.
The electrical attraction between water molecules caused by this dipole
pulls individual molecules closer together, making it more difficult to
separate the molecules, and therefore raising the boiling point. This type
of attraction is known as hydrogen bonding. The molecules of water are
constantly moving in relation to each other, and the hydrogen bonds are
continually breaking and reforming at intervals briefer than 200
femtoseconds (200 x 10-15 seconds).

Gas Phase (Water Vapor)

The third state of water is the gaseous state (water vapor). In this state,
water molecules move very rapidly and are not bound together.
Although we cannot see water in its gaseous state, we can feel it in the
air on a hot, humid day. Commonly, water boils at a temperature of
100°C or 212°F, forming water vapor.
Many people believe that the visible plume of steam from a boiling
kettle is water vapor. However, the steam that you see consists of very
small water droplets suspended in the air, while water vapor is the Figure 8. Molecular structure of Water Vapor
invisible gas that results when water evaporates. We can "see" water Credits:http://tornado.sfsu.edu/Geosciences/classes/e260/DewPoint
Temperature/Activity%203%20Teacher%20Guide_%20It%27s%20J
vapor through the electromagnetic eyes of infrared-sensing instruments. ust%20a%20Phase.htm

Author | ERWIN CAPSA ESTREMERA Contributor/Editor | ALVIN ZAULDA GRULLA 4

SORSOGON STATE COLLEGE | AS 211 – CHEMISTRY FOR TECHNOLOGISTS MODULE 1

THE PHASE DIAGRAM OF WATER

Water freezes to form ice, ice thaws to form liquid water, and both water
and ice can transform into the vapor state. Phase diagrams help describe
how water changes states depending on the pressure and temperature.

The three phases of water – liquid, solid, and vapor – are shown in
temperature-pressure space.

Note the following key points on a phase diagram:

 The critical point (CP), above which only supercritical fluids exist.
 The triple point (TP), a well-defined coordinate where the curves
intersect, at which the three states of matter (solid, liquid, gas) exist
at equilibrium with each other.
 Well-defined boundaries between solid and liquid, solid and gas,
and liquid and gas.
 During the phase transition between two phases (i.e, along these
boundaries), the phases are in equilibrium with each other.

Author | ERWIN CAPSA ESTREMERA Contributor/Editor | ALVIN ZAULDA GRULLA 5