List four ways on how the properties of water resulting from its polarity and hydrogen bonding affect living systems.

Answer 1

1. Water has the unique property of being less dense in its solid form, which is uncharacteristic of other elements. Because of this, ice floats on top of water. If this was not the case and ice sunk, all of the polar ice caps at the north and south poles would sink, causing the water level for the entire planet to rise! Bye bye, beach houses!
2. Hydrogen bonds are unique in that they are strong in numbers, kind of like velcro! I wouldn't trust one small piece of velcro to support me from falling off a mountain, but wearing a velcro suit would make getting down from a velcro wall rather difficult. Because of this, it takes a lot of energy to heat up water to get it to boil. Have you ever watched water boil? Boring! This unique property allows water to absorb a lot of heat without changing its own temperature, which is why the water at the beach in June is still kind of cold, but it stays warm into October!
3. More about this fact above, which is called "having a high specific heat capacity." Because water is so difficult to heat up, it serves as a wonderful buffer for land that is near it. For example, the temperature in Los Angeles, CA never really fluctuates much, but 100 miles East the desert is super hot. The reason for this temperature difference is that Los Angeles' temperature is kept moderated by the water while the inland desert doesn't have this ability. This phenomenon can also be observed when you compare temperatures in Southhampton vs. Manhattan.
4. Water is a completely polar substance, meaning one end of the water molecule has a partial negative charge while the other has a partial positive. Because of this, water interacts really well with other polar things, such as sugar! Unfortunately, non-polar substances like oil don't fit this category, which is why oil from an oil spill floats on top of the water, blocking light from reaching the organisms below that desperately need it. Deprived of light and oxygen, these organisms can die quickly if the oil is not cleaned up. On a smaller scale, this is also why cleaning cookware after Italian night using a lot of olive oil is also a total pain.