BioNow Student Study Guide: Properties of Water

Part I: Pre-Video Questions

1. Provide a brief definition of the following terms to gain familiarity before watching the video.

a. Water:

b. Hydrogen bond:

c. Covalent bond:

d. Ionic bond:

e. Polar:

f. Calorie:

g. Heat capacity:

h. Heat of evaporation:

i. Solute:

j. Solution:

k. Cohesion:

l. Adhesion:

m. Surface tension:

n. Density:

Please read the video summary below and answer the questions that follow in detail.

Your body is made of about 60% water for a reason. Without it, life would not exist. Fluid inside and outside of every cell in your body is mostly water because it offers life-sustaining properties that no other substance can. When scientists search for life on other planets, their first question is “Does it have water?”

Of any liquid you can think of, water seems the most plain. It has no taste or smell, no color, and no feel (other than wet). So why is water so unique? It is all based on the chemistry of a water molecule, or H2O. This is an extremely basic molecule, but because of how water molecules interact with each other through hydrogen bonding, water has amazing properties.

This video asks the question “Could another liquid replace water?” Imagine you drank something other than water every day, would you still be alive? If the oceans were not filled with water, but some other liquid, could the Earth still sustain life?

1)  List ten substances you think could replace water.

2) Where are all the places water exists on Earth?

3) Can you think of a property that makes water unique?

Part II: Video Questions

4) Draw and label a water molecule.

5) Describe how water molecules bond with each other and draw a picture of several water molecules bonding with each other.

6) At first glance, how are oil and alcohol different from water?

7) Why is it difficult to find liquids on Earth that do not contain water?

8) Describe the concept of heat capacity.

9) How does the high heat capacity of water benefit an organism?

10) How does the high heat capacity of water benefit life on Earth?

11) If water did not have a high heat capacity, how would it affect organisms living in cold climates?

12)  Describe cohesion as it relates to water.

13) Why is water cohesive?

14) Why are oil and alcohol not cohesive?

15) Why is water adhesive to other surfaces?

16)  How does water’s adhesive property benefit our circulatory system?

17) Describe the concept of heat of evaporation.

18) How does a high heat of evaporation benefit a living organism?

19) If water had a low heat of evaporation, how would it affect a living organism?

20) What are the solid, liquid, and gas forms of water?

21) For most substances, how does the density of the solid state compare to the density of the liquid state?

22)  Why does solid water have a lower density than liquid water?

23) How would the Earth look if solid water was denser than liquid water?

Part III: Video Evaluation

24) Would oil or alcohol actually be better than water for any of the properties?

25) For any property, explain how living organisms would be different if oil was their main body fluid.

26) For any property, explain how living organisms would be different if alcohol was their main body fluid.

Part IV: Video Reflection

27) What was the most interesting part of the video?

28) What was something new you learned?

29) What are you confused about from the video?

30) Which part would you like to learn more about?

31) What follow-up observation or experiment would you like to do and how would you relate it to your life?