Question

Living things are over 70% water. This is central to life of earth. Explain how the structure of water directly relates to its role at the solvent of life. Include in your discussion the geometry and shape of the water molecule, the approximate angle formed within and why this angle forms, how water molecules interact with each other, and how this directly relates to its role as the principle component in living things. Also include in your description why the ability of the water molecule to ionize is important to living processes, as well as what role structured water plays in a cell. Would living things be able to be composed of 70% sand? Why or why not? Does this design of water as the perfect solvent of life speak to an all-knowing God as the creator and designer of all living things?

Answer 1

Water is called the universal solvent or the solvent of life due to its ability to dissolve wide variety of solutes. Water has polarity and it can form hydrogen bonds which makes it an excellent solvent. Water can dissolve maximum number of substances so it has maximum number of nutrients, chemicals and minerals which are essential for various life processes.

Water has a polar arrangement of hydrogen and oxygen atoms; hydrogen atom has positive electrical charge whereas oxygen atom has negative electrical charge. So, water can easily dissolve ions and polar molecules but cannot dissolve non-polar molecules easily.

Water has polar molecules. Hydrogen molecules have partial positive charges, and oxygen molecule have partial negative charge and water molecule has bent tetrahedral structure and because of the unequal charge distribution it reflects the greater electronegativity. The partial charges on a water molecule are represented by the symbols ?⁺ and ?^- respectively.

The tetrahedral geometry of water molecule has the H-O-H bond angle of 109.5°, but the two non-bonding pairs present, apply a stronger repulsive force against the two covalent bonding pairs and push the two hydrogen atoms so that they come closer together, resultantly the tetrahedral arrangement becomes distorted and the H—O—H angle changed to 104.5°.

Due to the polar nature of water it has the ability of cohesion; sticking to itself, the ability of adhesion; sticking to other substances, and due to hydrogen bonding it has great surface tension.

Water is the only natural element that exists in all three states– solid, liquid, and gas – at the temperatures normally found on Earth. Our body is consisting of approximately 75% water. All the important life processes need water to start and also due to the flowy nature of water substances, nutrients etc can be transferred from one cell to another. Even the waste products are moved out of the boy with the help of water.

Living things cannot be composed of sand because sand does not exhibit the properties like water. Though 70% of the earth’s crust is made up of sand but not even a single living thing is made up of sand. Water is the ultimate source of life. That is why life is only possible on earth and not on any other planet.