15.

1 Water and Its Properties >

Water
- Water and Its Properties

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15.1 Water and Its Properties > CHEMISTRY & YOU

What properties of water make it

essential to life on Earth?

Water covers about

three quarters of
Earth’s surface. All
known life forms are
made mostly of
water.

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15.1 Water and Its Properties > Water in the Liquid State

Water in the Liquid State

What factor causes the high surface
tension, low vapor pressure, and high
boiling point of water?

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15.1 Water and Its Properties > Water in the Liquid State

Water, H2O, is a simple molecule

consisting of three atoms.
• The oxygen atom forms a covalent bond
with each of the hydrogen atoms.

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15.1 Water and Its Properties > Water in the Liquid State

Water, H2O, is a simple molecule

consisting of three atoms.
• The oxygen atom forms a covalent bond
with each of the hydrogen atoms.
• Oxygen has a greater electronegativity
than hydrogen, so the oxygen atom attracts
the electron pair of the covalent O—H bond
to a greater extent than the hydrogen atom.

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15.1 Water and Its Properties > Water in the Liquid State

However, in water, this attraction results

in hydrogen bonding.
• Hydrogen bonds are attractive forces that
arise when a hydrogen atom is covalently
bonded to a very Hydrogen
bond
electronegative
atom and also
weakly bonded to an
unshared electron
pair of another
electronegative
Liquid water
atom.
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15.1 Water and Its Properties >

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15.1 Water and Its Properties > Water in the Liquid State

Many unique and important

properties of water—including
its high surface tension, low
vapor pressure, and high
boiling point—result from
hydrogen bonding.

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15.1 Water and Its Properties > Water in the Liquid State

Surface Tension
Have you ever noticed that water forms
nearly spherical droplets on a leaf?

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15.1 Water and Its Properties > Water in the Liquid State

Surface Tension
• The water molecules within the body of the liquid
form hydrogen bonds with the other molecules that
surround them on all sides.
• The attractive forces on each of
these molecules are balanced.

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15.1 Water and Its Properties > Water in the Liquid State

Surface Tension
• The water molecules within the body of the liquid
form hydrogen bonds with the other molecules that
surround them on all sides.
• The attractive forces on each of
these molecules are balanced.
• Water molecules at the surface
of the liquid experience an
unbalanced attraction.
• As a result, water molecules at
the surface tend to be drawn
inward.
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15.1 Water and Its Properties > Water in the Liquid State

Surface Tension
The inward force, or pull, that tends to
minimize the surface area of a liquid is
called surface tension.

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15.1 Water and Its Properties > Water in the Liquid State

Surface Tension
The inward force, or pull, that tends to
minimize the surface area of a liquid is
called surface tension.
• All liquids have a surface tension, but
water’s surface tension is higher than most.
• The surface tension of water tends to hold a
drop of liquid in a spherical shape.

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15.1 Water and Its Properties > Water in the Liquid State

Surface Tension
It is possible to decrease the surface
tension of water by adding a surfactant.
• A surfactant is any substance that
interferes with the hydrogen bonding
between water molecules and thereby
reduces surface tension.

• Soaps and detergents are surfactants.

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15.1 Water and Its Properties > Water in the Liquid State

Vapor Pressure
Hydrogen bonding between water
molecules also explains water’s unusually
low vapor pressure.

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15.1 Water and Its Properties > Water in the Liquid State

Vapor Pressure
Hydrogen bonding between water
molecules also explains water’s unusually
low vapor pressure.
• An extensive network of hydrogen bonds holds
the molecules in liquid water to one another.
• These hydrogen bonds must be broken before
water changes from the liquid to the vapor
state, so the tendency of these molecules to
escape is low and evaporation is slow.
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15.1 Water and Its Properties > Water in the Liquid State

Boiling Point
Molecular compounds of low molecular
mass are usually gases or liquids with
low boiling points at normal atmospheric
pressure.
• Ammonia (NH3) has a molar mass of
17.0 g/mol and boils at about –33˚C.

• Water has a molar mass of 18.0 g/mol,

but it has a boiling point of 100˚C.
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15.1 Water and Its Properties > Water in the Liquid State

Boiling Point
The difference between the boiling points
of ammonia and water is due to hydrogen
bonding, which is more extensive in water
than in ammonia.
• It takes much more heat to disrupt the
attractions between water molecules
than those between ammonia molecules.

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15.1 Water and Its Properties >

Some insects are able to walk across

water. How do the properties of water
explain their ability?

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15.1 Water and Its Properties >

Some insects are able to walk across

water. How do the properties of water
explain their ability?

The surface tension of water is

relatively high. As long as the forces
holding the surface water molecules
together are stronger than the forces
exerted down on the water by the
insect, the insect will not sink.
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15.1 Water and Its Properties > Water in the Solid State

Water in the Solid State

How can you describe the
structure of ice?

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15.1 Water and Its Properties > Water in the Solid State

Ice cubes float in your glass of iced tea

because solid water has a lower density
than liquid water.
• This situation is not usual for liquids.

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15.1 Water and Its Properties > Water in the Solid State

As water begins to cool, it behaves

initially like a typical liquid.
• It contracts slightly, Density of Liquid Water and Ice
and its density Temperature (˚C) Density (g/cm3)
gradually increases. 100 (liquid water) 0.9584
50 0.9881
• When the 25 0.9971
temperature of the 10 0.9997
water falls below 4 1.0000

4˚C, the density of 0 (liquid water) 0.9998

0 (ice) 0.9168
water actually starts
to decrease.
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15.1 Water and Its Properties > Water in the Solid State

Below 4˚C, water no longer behaves like

a typical liquid.
• Ice, which forms at Density of Liquid Water and Ice
0˚C, has about a Temperature (˚C) Density (g/cm3)
10% lower density 100 (liquid water) 0.9584

than water at 0˚C. 50 0.9881

25 0.9971
• Ice is one of only a 10 0.9997

few solids that 4 1.0000

0 (liquid water) 0.9998
floats in its own
0 (ice) 0.9168
liquid.

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