Unique Properties of Water Mrs. McAven 8th Grade Science Riverwood Middle School

VOGO Side 1 WORD Definition Side 2 Example/Sentence Picture Words: Where can I find these words? Chapter 2 (pg. 44) Words: Adhesion Buoyancy Capillary Action Cohesion Density Polarity Specific Heat Surface Tension Universal Solvent

ADHESION Definition: the ability of water molecules to attract to other substances. Because water molecules are polar (having one positive end and one negative end) they attract other substances. Example: raindrops sticking to a window or glass water sticking to paper towel

BUOYANCY Definition: the ability of an object to float in water. Example: floating in the ocean or a pool a boat

CAPILLARY ACTION Definition: the process that moves water through a narrow porous space Example: water moving up a straw water moving up a plant stem

COHESION Definition: the ability of water molecules to attract towards each other. Because water molecules are polar (having one positive end and one negative end), they attract each other. Example: water “dome” rain drops

DENSITY Definition: the measure of mass of a substance per unit volume Example: ice floating on water

POLARITY Definition: when one molecule has opposite charges on each of its ends (one end is slightly positive, the other end is slightly negative). Example: Water (H2O) is a polar molecule because its hydrogen end is slightly positive and its oxygen end is slightly negative.

SPECIFIC HEAT The amount of energy it takes to raise the temperature of a substance by one degree Celsius Water has a very high specific heat. This means that compared to other substances, it takes a big change in energy to change the temperature of water. Example: The ocean does not drastically change temp.

SURFACE TENSION Definition: the force that acts on the particles at the surface of a material Example: Water striders (bugs) painful belly flop

UNIVERSAL SOLVENT Water is called the “universal solvent” Definition: this means that water can dissolve more things than any other substance. Example: water can dissolve: soap, sugar, salt, toothpaste, baking soda, etc.