1. Water and the Fitness of the Environment
Chapter 3
Water and the Fitness of the Environment

2. Importance of water Overview: The Molecule That Supports All of Life
Water is the biological medium here on Earth
All living organisms require water more than any other substance

3. Water Facts
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

4. Water Facts
The polarity of water molecules results in hydrogen bonding
The water molecule is a polar molecule

5. Water’s Polarity The polarity of water molecules
Allows them to form hydrogen bonds with each other
Contributes to the various properties water exhibits
Hydrogen bonds + H
δ –
Figure 3.2

6. Properties of water
Seven emergent properties of water contribute to Earth’s fitness for life
Cohesion
Adhesion
Surface tension
Temperature Moderation
High specific heat
Evaporative cooling
Universal solvent

7. Cohesion Water molecules exhibit cohesion Cohesion
Is the bonding of a high percentage of the molecules to neighboring water molecules
Is due to hydrogen bonding
Like molecules bonding to each other (water attracting other water molecules)

8. Water conducting cells
Cohesion
Cohesion
Helps pull water up through the microscopic vessels of plants (capillarity)
Water conducting cells
100 µm
Figure 3.3

9. Water conducting cells
Adhesion
Water conducting cells
100 µm
Figure 3.3
is the clinging of one substance to another
Adhesion of water to cell walls by hydrogen bonds, helps resist the downward pull of gravity

10. Surface Tension Surface tension
Is a measure of how hard it is to break the surface of a liquid
Is related to cohesion
Figure 3.4

11. Moderation of Temperature
Water moderates air temperature
By absorbing heat from air that is warmer and releasing the stored heat to air that is cooler

12. Heat and Temperature Kinetic energy Is the energy of motion Heat
Is a measure of the total amount of kinetic energy due to molecular motion (dependent on volume)
Temperature
Measures the intensity of heat (average kinetic energy regardless of volume )

13. Water’s High Specific Heat
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

14. Specific Heat
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

15. Evaporative Cooling Evaporation
Is the transformation of a substance from a liquid to a gas
Requires energy
Heat of vaporization
Is the quantity of heat a liquid must absorb for 1 gram of it to be converted from a liquid to a gas
100oC steam has MORE HEAT than 100oC boiling water

16. Evaporative Cooling Is due to water’s high heat of vaporization
Allows water to cool a surface
Sweating cools the body as heat energy from the body changes sweat into a gas

17. Insulation of Bodies of Water by Floating Ice
Solid water, or ice
Is less dense than liquid water
Floats in liquid water
Insulates water & organisms below ice layer

18. Insulation of Bodies of Water by Floating Ice
The hydrogen bonds in ice
Are more “ordered” than in liquid water, making ice less dense (crystal lattice)
Liquid water
Hydrogen bonds constantly break and re-form
Ice
Hydrogen bonds are stable
Hydrogen bond
Figure 3.5

19. Insulation of Bodies of Water by Floating Ice
Since ice floats in water
Life can exist under the frozen surfaces of lakes and polar seas

20. The Solvent of Life Water is a versatile solvent due to its polarity
It can form aqueous solutions
Called the universal solvent because so many substances dissolve in water

21. 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 are attracted to sodium cations (Na+). +
Cl – –
Na+
Positive hydrogen regions of water molecules cling to chloride anions (Cl–).
Cl–
Figure 3.6

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

23. Hydrophilic and Hydrophobic Substances
A hydrophilic substance
Has an affinity for water
Polar or ionic
Carbohydrates, salts
A hydrophobic substance
Does not have an affinity for water
Nonpolar
lipids

24. Solute Concentration in Aqueous Solutions
Since most biochemical reactions occur in water inside cells (aqueous environments)
It is important to learn to calculate the concentration of solutes in an aqueous solution

25. Moles and Molarity A mole
Represents an exact number of molecules of a substance in a given mass
Molarity
Is the number of moles of solute per liter of solution

26. Example
The molecular mass of sucrose (C12H22O11) is 342 daltons. (calculate this using the periodic table)
To make this a more user friendly number 342 daltons = 342 g/mol
To make a 1M (1-molar) solution, weigh out 342 g and dissolve in 0.8 L of water, then add water to a volume of 1 L.
Molarity = mol/L

27. Acids and Bases
Dissociation of water molecules leads to acidic and basic conditions that affect living organisms
Organisms must maintain homeostasis in the pH of their internal and external environments

28. Hydrogen atom in hydrogen bond between
Water molecules shifts to the other water molecule

29. What is actually transferred is a hydrogen ion (H+)
Note the charges on the resulting ions

30. Effects of Changes in pH
Water can dissociate Into hydronium ions (H+ or H3O+) and hydroxide (OH-) ions
Changes in the concentration of these ions Can have a great affect on pH in living organisms H
Hydronium
ion (H3O+)
Hydroxide
ion (OH–) + –
Figure on p. 53 of water dissociating

31. 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 (more OH- ions)

32. The pH Scale
In any aqueous solution, the product of the H+ and OH- concentrations is constant at 10-14
A neutral substance has an equal amount or H+ = 10-7and OH- = 10-7
What is the H+ concentration if the OH- concentration is 10-5 ?
What is the pH of that substance?

33. The pH Scale Scale goes from 0-14 with 7 neutral
The pH of a solution Is determined by the relative concentration of hydrogen ions
Difference of 10X in hydrogen ion concentration between any two pH values
Acids have a higher number of H+ ions than a base
Acids produce H+ ion in solution
Bases produce OH- ions in solution

34. The pH scale and pH values of various aqueous solutions
Increasingly Acidic
[H+] > [OH–]
Increasingly Basic
[H+] < [OH–]
Neutral
[H+] = [OH–]
Oven cleaner 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
pH Scale
Battery acid
Digestive (stomach)
juice, lemon juice
Vinegar, beer, wine,
cola
Tomato juice
Black coffee Rainwater
Urine
Pure water
Human blood
Seawater
Milk of magnesia
Household ammonia
Household bleach
Figure 3.8

35. Buffers The internal pH of most living cells Buffers
Must remain close to pH 7
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
Made by organisms

36. The Threat of Acid Precipitation
Burning of fossil fuels releases gaseous compounds in the air including carbon dioxide
Acid precipitation
Refers to rain, snow, or fog with a pH lower than pH 5.6
Is caused primarily by the mixing of different pollutants with water in the air

37. Can damage life in Earth’s ecosystems
Acid precipitation
Can damage life in Earth’s ecosystems 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
More acidic
Acid rain
Normal rain
More basic
Figure 3.9

38. CO2
greenhouse effect - CO2 stays in atmosphere and acts a blanket over Earth, preventing heat from radiation into outer space
absorbed by ocean
too much can cause calcification of coral reef which can effect the ecosystem and biodiversity