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Water Basics: Sources, Uses, and the Water Cycle
Which one of the following substance is the universal solvent?
The chemical reactions in all plants and animals that support life take place in as water medium. Water not only provides medium to make these reactions possible but is itself an important reactant or product of these reactions. Water is thus an important universal solvent. It consists of 2 hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom which are held together by covalent bonds. Oxygen is more electronegative than hydrogen molecules. Hydrogen is positively charged and oxygen is negatively charged. Thus it can dissolve and dissociate most of the compounds. Positive part will be attracted towards oxygen and negative part of the compound towards hydrogen.