Water and the Fitness of

the Environment
From: Campbell Biology
By: Suman Bhattacharjee

Copyright © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Benjamin Cummings

 Water = Life
• Three-quarters of the Earth’s surface is
submerged in water
• The abundance of water is the main reason the
Earth is habitable

Figure 3.1
Copyright © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Benjamin Cummings
 The polarity of water molecules
• The polarity of water molecules
– Allows them to form hydrogen bonds with each
other
– Contributes to the various properties water
exhibits

–
+ Hydrogen
H bonds

+ – H
– +
+ –

Figure 3.2
Copyright © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Benjamin Cummings
 • Cohesion
– Helps pull water up through the microscopic
vessels of plants

Water conducting cells

Figure 3.3 100 µm

Copyright © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Benjamin Cummings
 • Surface tension
– Is a measure of how hard it is to break the
surface of a liquid
– Is related to cohesion

Figure 3.4
Copyright © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Benjamin Cummings
 Moderation of Temperature
• The specific heat of a substance
– Is the amount of heat that must be absorbed or
lost for 1 gram of that substance to change its
temperature by 1ºC

• Water has a high specific heat, which allows it

to minimize temperature fluctuations to within
limits that permit life
– Heat is absorbed when hydrogen bonds break
– Heat is released when hydrogen bonds form

Copyright © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Benjamin Cummings

 Insulation of Bodies of Water by Floating Ice
• The hydrogen bonds in ice
– Are more “ordered” than in liquid water,
making ice less dense

Hydrogen
bond
Ice Liquid water
Figure 3.5 Hydrogen bonds are stable Hydrogen bonds
constantly break and re-form
Copyright © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Benjamin Cummings
 The Solvent of Life
• The different regions of the polar water
molecule can interact with ionic compounds
called solutes and dissolve them
Negative
oxygen regions
of polar water molecules –
Na+
are attracted to sodium
+ –
+
cations (Na+).
–
+
–
Positive
hydrogen regions
Na+ –
of water molecules + +
cling to chloride anions Cl– Cl –
(Cl–). – + –

+ –

+ –
–

Figure 3.6
Copyright © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Benjamin Cummings
 • Water can also interact with polar molecules
such as proteins

This oxygen is
attracted to a slight
– positive charge on
the lysozyme
+
molecule.
This oxygen is attracted to a slight
negative charge on the lysozyme molecule.
(a) Lysozyme molecule (b) Lysozyme molecule (purple) (c) Ionic and polar regions on the protein’s
in a nonaqueous in an aqueous environment Surface attract water molecules.
Figure 3.7 environment such as tears or saliva

Copyright © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Benjamin Cummings

 Hydrophilic and Hydrophobic Substances
• A hydrophilic substance
– Has an affinity for water

• A hydrophobic substance
– Does not have an affinity for water

Copyright © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Benjamin Cummings

 Dissociation of Water
• Water can dissociate
– Into hydronium ions and hydroxide ions

• Changes in the concentration of these ions

– Can have a great affect on living organisms

+ –
H H
H H +
Figure on p. 53 of water H
H H H
dissociating

Hydronium Hydroxide
ion (H3O+) ion (OH–)

Copyright © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Benjamin Cummings

 Acids and Bases
• An acid
– Is any substance that increases the hydrogen
ion concentration of a solution

• A base
– Is any substance that reduces the hydrogen
ion concentration of a solution

Copyright © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Benjamin Cummings

 The pH Scale
• The pH of a solution
– Is determined by the relative concentration of
hydrogen ions pH Scale
0
1 Battery acid

Increasingly Acidic
– Is low in an acid 2 Digestive (stomach)

[H+] > [OH–]

juice, lemon juice
3 Vinegar, beer, wine,
cola
– Is high in a base 4 Tomato juice
5 Black coffee
Rainwater
6 Urine
Neutral 7 Pure water
[H+] = [OH–] Human blood
8

Increasingly Basic
Seawater
9

[H+] < [OH–]

10
Milk of magnesia
11
Household ammonia
12
Household bleach
13
Oven cleaner
Figure 3.8 14
Copyright © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Benjamin Cummings
 Role Of Buffers
• Buffers
– Are substances that minimize changes in the
concentrations of hydrogen and hydroxide ions
in a solution
– Consist of an acid-base pair that reversibly
combines with hydrogen ions

Copyright © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Benjamin Cummings

 The Threat of Acid Precipitation
• Acid precipitation
– Can damage life in Earth’s ecosystems
0 More
1 acidic
2
3 Acid
4 rain
5 Normal
6 rain
7
8
9
10
11
12
13 More
14 basic
Figure 3.9
Copyright © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Benjamin Cummings