BIO NMDCAT

Anabolic polymer synthesis (e.g., peptide bond, glycosidic bond, phosphodiester bond) involves the removal of a water molecule (dehydration synthesis). The hydroxyl group is removed from one monomer and a hydrogen from another, forming water and a new covalent bond.

Water has a high dielectric constant (~80 at 20°C). This means it significantly weakens the electrostatic force of attraction between the oppositely charged Na⁺ and Cl⁻ ions in the crystal lattice, allowing them to dissociate and become surrounded by hydration shells.

Capillary action is the rise of water against gravity. It results from adhesion (attraction of water to the polar glass walls), which pulls water up the sides, and surface tension (from cohesion), which pulls the entire water column upward to minimize the surface area.

The cohesion-tension theory explains that water molecules are strongly linked by hydrogen bonds (cohesion). When transpiration pulls water from the top of the xylem, the entire continuous column of water is pulled up as a single unit, resisting breakage due to this high tensile strength.

Water dissociates slightly into H⁺ (actually H₃O⁺) and OH⁻. The concentration of these ions, expressed as pH, is critical. Enzyme activity, protein structure, and nucleic acid stability are all highly sensitive to the hydrogen ion concentration established by water's ionization.

Specific heat is a measure of thermal inertia. Water's specific heat is defined as 1 calorie per gram per degree Celsius. The high value is due to the energy needed to first disrupt hydrogen bonds before molecular kinetic energy (and thus temperature) can increase.

When ions or polar molecules dissolve, water molecules orient themselves according to the charge. The δ⁺ hydrogens face an anion, and the δ⁻ oxygen faces a cation. This layer of tightly bound water is the hydration shell, which isolates and stabilizes the solute in solution.

The latent heat of fusion is the heat energy released when water freezes. Because this value is high for water, the freezing process releases heat, slowing the rate of ice crystal formation. This protects cell contents from lethal intracellular freezing in organisms exposed to sub-zero temperatures.

Water moves from higher water potential to lower water potential. If the external solution has a lower (more negative) water potential (hypertonic), water leaves the cell by exosmosis. The protoplast shrinks and detaches from the rigid cell wall, a process called plasmolysis.

In the Krebs cycle, the enzyme fumarase catalyzes the addition of a water molecule across the double bond of fumarate. This hydration reaction converts fumarate to malate. Water is a direct reactant in this specific step, not just a solvent.

Osmosis is the net passive diffusion of water across a selectively permeable membrane from a region of higher water potential (lower solute concentration) to a region of lower water potential (higher solute concentration). It does not require energy and is central to water relations in cells.

In ice, each water molecule forms a maximum of four hydrogen bonds in a rigid, crystalline hexagonal lattice. This structure holds molecules farther apart on average than in the liquid state, reducing the density. This lattice is an open, ordered arrangement, maximizing H-bonding.

Large bodies of water absorb solar energy during the day and release it slowly at night without large temperature swings. This property, due to the extensive hydrogen bonding network, protects aquatic organisms from thermal shock and provides a stable environment.

Water has a V-shaped bent geometry (104.5° bond angle). Oxygen's higher electronegativity pulls shared electrons closer, creating a partial negative charge (δ⁻) on oxygen and partial positive charges (δ⁺) on hydrogens. The bonds are polar covalent, not ionic, and the unequal sharing creates a molecular dipole.

Water dissolves polar and ionic solutes by forming hydration shells. The partial charges of water molecules interact electrostatically with ions or polar groups, and hydrogen bonding stabilizes the dissolved state. Low molecular weight and high specific heat are separate properties.

Hydrolysis (hydro = water, lysis = splitting) uses water as a reactant. The bond in the polymer is broken, and the components of water (H and OH) are added to the resulting monomers. Enzymes catalyze this reaction, but water is a substrate, not a catalyst.

Water's high specific heat (1 cal/g°C) means it absorbs considerable heat energy for a small temperature increase. This property, due to hydrogen bonding, provides thermal stability to organisms and large bodies of water, protecting protoplasm from drastic temperature shifts.

Enzymatic digestion of starch is a hydrolysis reaction. Water molecules are used to break the α-1,4 glycosidic bonds between glucose monomers. The H from water attaches to one glucose, and the OH attaches to the adjacent glucose.

Cohesion creates a strong network of hydrogen bonds at the water-air interface, generating surface tension. This film-like layer is resistant to external force, supporting objects denser than water if they do not break the surface layer.