The Properties of Water By Jeff Collmann What are some properties of water and how do they work?

Water is often considered the bases of life, but what properties of water give it such unique and beneficial characteristics to promote life? A few of these properties include: water in the solid state is less dense than in its liquid state, water has a large surface tension, and water is a polar molecule. Properties like these three make life possible. Floating ice seems normally to most people, but if one takes the time to …

…electrons shared from oxygen tend to stay around the hydrogen atom. This creates an uneven distribution of charge on the molecule, making it polar. Tracing the reasoning behind much of water's unique characteristics, almost always leads to hydrogen bonding. Hydrogen bonding allows for so much more interaction between molecules. Now it can be understood when water is considered the bases for life, water molecules are involved with so much and are undoubtedly essential to life.