Water Flashcards
(15 cards)
What is water a metabolite in?
Condensation, hydrolysis, photosynthesis, respiration.
What is water used as in condensation, hydrolysis, photosynthesis, and respiration?
A metabolite.
Why is water being a solvent important?
So metabolic reactions can occur.
What does water being a solvent allow?
Transport of substances.
What property of water allows it to buffer temperature changes?
High (specific) heat capacity.
What does water’s high heat capacity do?
Buffers changes in temperature.
What property of water gives a cooling effect during evaporation?
Large latent heat of vaporisation.
What does large latent heat of vaporisation provide?
Cooling effect (through evaporation).
What does cohesion between water molecules support in plants?
Columns of water.
What does cohesion between water molecules produce at the surface?
Surface tension.
What does surface tension from cohesion allow?
Support for (small) organisms.
Is water a polar molecule?
Yes.
Why is water called a universal solvent?
Because it dissolves many substances due to being a polar molecule.
Why do metabolic reactions occur faster in water?
Because water acts as a (universal) solvent.
Why is water considered reactive?
Because it takes part in hydrolysis, condensation, and other named reactions.
