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Worlds water day? :22march
- At its most basic, water is a molecule with one oxygen atom and two hydrogen atoms, bonded together by shared electrons.
- It is a V-shaped polar molecule, which means that it's charged positively near the hydrogen atoms and negatively near the oxygen atom.
- Water molecules are naturally attracted and stick to each other because of this polarity, forming a hydrogen bond.
- This hydrogen bond is the reason behind many of water's special properties, such as the fact that it's denser in its liquid state than in its solid state (ice floats on water). We'll look closer at these special properties later.
Although often perceived to be pretty ordinary, wateri s the most remarkable substance.
We wash in it,
fish in it,
swim in it,
drink it
and cook with it,
although probably not all at the same time. We are about two-thirds water and require water to live. Life as we know it could not have evolved without water and dies without it.
Droughts cause famines and floods cause death and disease. Because of its clear importance, water is the most studied material on Earth. It comes as a surprise, there-fore, to find that it is so poorly understood, not only by people in general, but also by scientists working with it everyday.
Water seems, at first sight, to be a very simple molecu-le, consisting of two hydrogen atoms attached to an oxygen atom and indeed, few molecules are smaller. Its size, however, belies the complexity of its properties, and these properties seem to fit ideally into the requirements for carbon-based life as can no other molecule.
Organisms consist mostly of liquid water, which per-forms many functions and should never be considered simply as an inert diluent. Nevertheless, in spite of much work many of the properties of water are puzzling. It has often been stated that life depends on the anomalous properties of water. In particular, the large heat capacity and high water content in organisms contribute to ther-mal regulation and prevent local temperature fluctu-ations. The high latent heat of evaporation gives resistance to dehydration and considerable evaporative cooling.
Water is an excellent solvent due to its polarity,high dielectric constant and small size, particularly for polar and ionic compounds and salts. Indeed its solva-tion properties are so impressive that it is difficult to obtain really pure water.
Water ionises and allows easy proton exchange between molecules, so contributing to the richness of the ionic interactions in biology. The structuring of water around molecules allows them to sense and be sensed at a distance.
The unique hydration properties of water towards biological macromolecules(particularly proteins and nucleic acids) to a large extent determine their three-dimensional structures, and hence their functions, in solution.
Water should never be assumed to be just an inert diluent in biochemical processes. It plays an intimate part in determining the structure and reactions of macro- molecules and its own structuring can inform other pro- cesses over significant distances.
Water should be given greater prominence in both research and teaching. We should always be alert to the central role that water plays in the rich diversity of biological processes
CONSERVATION OF WATER
With water being such a vital natural resource for life, saving water and reducing the wastage of water is a great way to take action. All of us can adopt and implement some very easy ways to start this fight for conserving water for our future generations. We have listed some of the most basic and most effective tips on how you can save water in your daily life.
- Install a Tap/Faucet Aerator
- Flush with Less
- Turn Off the Tap While Brushing your Teeth or Shaving
- Turn Off the Tap While Washing your Hands
- Whether you’re washing your clothes, taking a bath, washing the dishes, shaving, brushing your teeth, or gardening, there are several simple ways that will help you save water
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