Day 3: Water and it's Magical Properties

Today marks the first day of September, which if you're from the Internet like I am, is when all the Harry Potter references about the start of a new magical year pop up wherever you go. It's also the beginning of a month long joke of Green Day's song "Wake Me Up When September Ends".

So water, is indeed magical, and I think my fellow Potterheads will agree with me. I mean, if it wasn't for water, there wouldn't be anything living on the planet we call home. And if it wasn't for the distinctive characteristics that water has, nothing would be possible.

The water molecule, as you know has two hydrogen atoms and two oxygen atoms and looks something like this.

Oxygen has a negative electrical charge and hydrogen has a positive electrical charge. Because of the difference in the charges, water is polar. These opposite electrical charges allow water to bond with other hydrogen atoms (hydrogen bonding). Hydrogen bonding is essential for life.

Water also has some unusual properties due to hydrogen bonding. It has a tendency for water molecules to stick together, also called cohesion. An example of cohesion is when water forms into a droplet. In class, we tested cohesion by adding drops of water onto the surface of a penny.



The cohesion of water allows many delicate insects and objects to "stand" on water because of surface tension. In class, we were able to witness water's surface tension by resting a toothpick on the water penny.



Another characteristic of water is adhesion, the ability to stick to other surfaces.

Cohesion and adhesion are incredibly important, especially in plants. The water is able to travel through the roots by sticking to the xylem (tubes that transport water in the plant), implementing adhesion and cohesion keeps the water together. The water then travels through the plant to the leaves where it releases oxygen into the air we breathe.

So adhesion and cohesion: very important.

Due to the hydrogen bonding, water also has an unusually high boiling point, allowing all three states of matter, solid, liquid, and gas to be present at the same time, which brings us to our next topic on water: density.

The density of an object is determined by whether or not an object is able to float in water. When water is in its solid form, also known as ice, the water expands, rather than contract, because of the hydrogen bonding.

Here's the difference in molecular structure between ice and water.

Since, ice takes up more space with the same amount of molecules, the density of ice is less than the density of water, allowing the ice to float on top. This is especially important during the winter and in colder climates where water freezes over on the top. Because the colder water stays closer to the surface, the deeper water is still warm enough to sustain life.

So I know y'all knew water was important to life, but if you didn't know the reasons why, well now you know! Yay, learning! Well, as time approaches the wee hours of the night, I bid you all adieu. Don't forget to drink water! Until next time.