Inorganic Chemistry For Biology

Water –Extremely Unique properties

Fig. 2.8

Tap. 26a

STOP – Try putting water properties to the test WATER IS COHESIVE !!! Check it out

Tap. 26b Water is known as being the “UNIVERSAL SOLVENT”, what does that mean and why is it important that your blood, tissue fluid,cells etc are mostly water

Water has a very high SHC- specific heat capacity.. Fig. 2.9 Water has a very high SHC- specific heat capacity.. Body temp, aquatic environments etc ? Water is very unique in that it crystalizes (spreads out) when turning to a solid becoming less dense…. Why is that crucial?

WATER IS TRANSPARENT

Fig. 2.10 In Neutral solutions there will be a number of OH– ions equal to the number of H+ ions

Fig. 2.11 In Acidic solutions there will always be more H+ ions than there are OH- Ions

Fig. 2.12 In Basic (alkali) solutions there is always a greater number of OH- ions than there are H+ Ions

Tap. 28 Even in pure distilled water, the water molecules will dissociate, but the number of H+ ions will always equal the number of OH- Ions In one liter of distilled water there will be 10-7 X Avagadros number (6.02 X 1023 ) of H+ ions 10-7 = 0.000 0001 X Avagadros number of H+ ions per liter. This is a pH of “7” . So something with a pH of 2 would be 10-2 = 0.01 X Avagadros number of H+ ions per liter. That means the pH number of 2 has way more H+ ions, way more acidic

Fig. 2.13

Tap. 29 Buffers are chemicals that take up either excess H+ ions or excess OH- ions to help maintain a given pH at the level it is supposed to stay at. In the above reaction, Bicarbonate ions act as a buffer to take up the excess H+ ions. During this reaction Carbonic Acid is produced, when Carbonic Acid is carried to the lungs it will dissociate into H2O and CO2 and be exhaled from the body. See Below H2CO3  H20 + CO2

Fig. 2a