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Environmental Science 15th Edition by Scott Spoolman,Tyler Miller
Edition 15ISBN: 978-1305090446Environmental Science 15th Edition by Scott Spoolman,Tyler Miller
Edition 15ISBN: 978-1305090446 Exercise 7
WATER'S UNIQUE PROPERTIES
Water (H2 O) is a remarkable substance with a unique combination of properties:
•Forces of attraction, called hydrogen bonds (see Figure 6, p. S8, in Supplement 3), hold water molecules together and are the major factor determining water's distinctive properties.
•Water exists as a liquid over a wide temperature range because of the hydrogen bonds between its molecules. If liquid water had a much narrower range of temperatures between freezing and boiling, the oceans might have frozen solid or boiled away long ago.
•Liquid water changes temperature slowly because it can store a large amount of heat without a large change in its own temperature. This high heat storage capacity helps to protect living organisms from temperature changes, moderates the earth's climate, and makes water an excellent coolant for car engines and power plants.
•It takes a large amount of energy to evaporate water because of its hydrogen bonds. Water absorbs large amounts of heat as it changes into water vapor and releases this heat as the vapor condenses back to liquid water. This helps to distribute heat throughout the world and to determine regional and local climates. It also makes evaporation a cooling process-explaining why you feel cooler when perspiration evaporates from your skin.
•Liquid water can dissolve a variety of compounds (see Figure 3, p. S6, in Supplement 3). It carries dissolved nutrients into the tissues of living organisms, flushes waste products out of those tissues, serves as an allpurpose cleanser, and helps to remove and dilute the water-soluble wastes of civilization. This property also means that water-soluble wastes can easily pollute water.
•Water filters out wavelengths of the sun's ultraviolet radiation that would harm some aquatic organisms. This helps to sustain aquatic ecosystems on which many land animals, including humans, depend.
•Unlike most liquids, water expands when it freezes. This means that ice floats on water because it has a lower density (mass per unit of volume) than liquid water has. Otherwise, lakes and streams in cold climates would freeze solid, losing most of their aquatic life. Because water expands upon freezing, it can break pipes, crack a car's engine block (if it doesn't contain antifreeze), break up pavement, and fracture rocks. Thus water plays a major role in shaping landscapes and forming soil.
Critical Thinking
Pick two of the special properties listed above and, for each property, explain how life on the earth would be different if it did not exist.
Water (H2 O) is a remarkable substance with a unique combination of properties:
•Forces of attraction, called hydrogen bonds (see Figure 6, p. S8, in Supplement 3), hold water molecules together and are the major factor determining water's distinctive properties.
•Water exists as a liquid over a wide temperature range because of the hydrogen bonds between its molecules. If liquid water had a much narrower range of temperatures between freezing and boiling, the oceans might have frozen solid or boiled away long ago.
•Liquid water changes temperature slowly because it can store a large amount of heat without a large change in its own temperature. This high heat storage capacity helps to protect living organisms from temperature changes, moderates the earth's climate, and makes water an excellent coolant for car engines and power plants.
•It takes a large amount of energy to evaporate water because of its hydrogen bonds. Water absorbs large amounts of heat as it changes into water vapor and releases this heat as the vapor condenses back to liquid water. This helps to distribute heat throughout the world and to determine regional and local climates. It also makes evaporation a cooling process-explaining why you feel cooler when perspiration evaporates from your skin.
•Liquid water can dissolve a variety of compounds (see Figure 3, p. S6, in Supplement 3). It carries dissolved nutrients into the tissues of living organisms, flushes waste products out of those tissues, serves as an allpurpose cleanser, and helps to remove and dilute the water-soluble wastes of civilization. This property also means that water-soluble wastes can easily pollute water.
•Water filters out wavelengths of the sun's ultraviolet radiation that would harm some aquatic organisms. This helps to sustain aquatic ecosystems on which many land animals, including humans, depend.
•Unlike most liquids, water expands when it freezes. This means that ice floats on water because it has a lower density (mass per unit of volume) than liquid water has. Otherwise, lakes and streams in cold climates would freeze solid, losing most of their aquatic life. Because water expands upon freezing, it can break pipes, crack a car's engine block (if it doesn't contain antifreeze), break up pavement, and fracture rocks. Thus water plays a major role in shaping landscapes and forming soil.
Critical Thinking
Pick two of the special properties listed above and, for each property, explain how life on the earth would be different if it did not exist.
Explanation
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Following are the two special properties...
Environmental Science 15th Edition by Scott Spoolman,Tyler Miller
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