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peterleader
peterleader
Student
High School - 11th Grade

Describe three ways that polarity of water molecules affects the behaviour of water.

This is from the Earth Science text book gr.11 chapter 22.2

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Posted by peterleader on Monday March 30, 2009 at 10:52 AM and tagged with earth science, polarity, science, water molecules.

Answers:


  1. enotechris Teacher
    Vocational

    eNotes Editor

    Water has a partial negative charge on one side of the molecule and a partial positive charge on the other.  When two water molecules are nearby, their complimentary positive and negative charges form a hydrogen bond.  This bond is what accounts for water's unique properties, including its effect as a solvent on most ions, its density being less as solid ice than as liquid water, and its ability to exclude non polar (uncharged) molecules, which is important for forming cell membranes. Chemically, the hydrogen bond results in water having a high heat of vaporization, strong surface tension, and a high specific heat.  Read more at the link:

     

    Sources:
    http://www.biology.arizona.edu/biochemistry/tutorials/che...

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    Posted by enotechris on Tuesday March 31, 2009 at 5:28 PM