Water: Properties, States, and Biological Functions

Sleet is a type of precipitation that forms when it falls through a layer of freezing air.

At temperatures as low as 0.01⁰C and very low pressure 611.3 Pa, i.e. 1/600 of sea level pressure, water exists in all its three forms in equilibrium. This is known as the triple point of water.

Pure water, although does not contain any ions to conduct electricity, but a slight spark of electricity causes auto-ionisation of water into H⁺ and OH^- thereby, conducting electricity.

The water vapours do not conduct electricity due to inefficiency of transfer of electrons or charges. Ice on the other hand, even being a closed lattice with zero entropy, conducts electricity through proton hops where a proton jumps from one molecule of water to another making it charged. This is done by quantum tunnelling, which is why the conductivity is fastest in case of ice.

The water molecule should be symmetrical and therefore, linear. But the repulsion between the two lone pairs of oxygen and further the lone pair-bond pair repulsion cause it to distort to a bent-shaped structure with lone pairs being on one side and bond pairs on the other.

The correct option will be ice > water > water vapours. The water vapours do not conduct electricity due to inefficiency of transfer of electrons or charges. Ice on the other hand, even being a closed lattice with zero entropy, conducts electricity through proton hops where a proton jumps from one molecule of water to another making it charged. This is done by quantum tunnelling, which is why the conductivity is fastest in ice.

In a PDB file, the water atom is represented as ‘HOH’ that symbolises its arrangement of atoms. In crystallisation, water exists as water of crystallisation, where water is added to the protein to stabilise the crystal. Proteins are charged molecules and are localised in the cell where water is the solvent. So, in order to maintain its folded structure, water forms hydrogen bonds and therefore, is added to stabilise the structure outside of the cell. During simulation process, the water which acts as a solvent can be removed but the water molecules present as water of crystallisation cannot be removed. 

In a PDB file, the water atom is represented as ‘HOH’ that symbolises its arrangement of atoms. In crystallisation, water exists as water of crystallisation, where water is added to the protein to stabilise the crystal. Proteins are charged molecules and are localised in the cell where water is the solvent. So, in order to maintain its folded structure, water forms hydrogen bonds and therefore, water is added to stabilise the structure outside of the cell. During simulation process, the water which acts as a solvent, can be removed but the water molecules present as water of crystallisation cannot be removed.

During proton hop, the hyrdonium ion (H₃O⁺) loses one proton and transfers its proton to the adjacent acceptor (H₂O), which then becomes a donor for the next adjacent in the series. Eventually, the proton reaches the last proton acceptor (water), which becomes a hydronium ion.

Water is majorly used as a buffer for all types of reactions in the cell that accepts an electron through hydroxyl ion and donates an electron through hydronium ion. Rest of the statements are incorrect owing to the mismatch in functions and properties.

In a PDB file, the water atom is represented as ‘HOH’ that symbolises its arrangement of atoms. In crystallisation, water exists as water of crystallisation, where water is added to the protein to stabilise the crystal. Proteins are charged molecules and are localised in the cell where water is the solvent. So, in order to maintain its folded structure, water forms hydrogen bonds and therefore, water is added to stabilise the structure outside of the cell. During simulation process, the water which acts as a solvent can be removed but the water molecules present as water of crystallisation cannot be removed. 

When lipids are dissolved in water, they arrange in a globular fashion by limiting the contact of the water only to the edges of outermost molecules rather than each of the molecules. This brings order and organisation to the system as the entropy of the system decreases considerably to define its stability. Therefore, it is in accordance with the law of entropy.

Octane being a saturated hydrocarbon, will be the least soluble, with cholesterol being slightly soluble owing to its unsaturation and partial charges. NaCl, the common salt, will be highly soluble as it readily electrolyses in water. Amongst AgCl and glucose, AgCl will be better dissolved in water owing to its polar nature and the non-polar nature of glucose.

The boiling water is half filled, i.e. the rest of the space is filled by steam or vapours. When subjected to intense freezing, the vapours are condensed to ice, which creates a vacuum in rest half of the bottle. This causes the bottle to distort inwards and the condensed vapours add to the total ice content.

Colligative properties are properties of solutions that depend upon the ratio of the number of solute particles to the number of solvent molecules in a solution, and not on the type of chemical species present. The concentration of solutes will affect the boiling point, vapour pressure and osmotic properties, but surface tension is a physical property of water.

Adhesion is due to hydrogen bonding property and cohesion is due to surface tension of water. Capillary action comprises of first adhesion and then cohesion. Therefore, chemically correct answer is hydrogen bonding and surface tension. 

Water acts as an insulator of charge in capacitors due to its high dielectric constant of 80. Crystallisation requires water to hydrogen bond, in order to stabilise the crystal. Breathing in all the organisms is a property of diffusion and osmosis (in gills). Nuclear reactors use variants of water (like heavy water, boiling water) as a coolant due to its high heat capacity, i.e. water carries the heat efficiently. Fire is extinguished by water as it readily evaporates and vapours cool down the nearby objects and cut down the supply of oxygen.