Water is the main component of all life on Earth. It is the habitat of organisms, and the main element in their structure, and, therefore, the source of life. It is used in industry of all directions. Therefore, it is very difficult to imagine life with a lack of water.
What is a part of water
Everyone is well aware that water is made up of hydrogen and oxygen. It really is. But in addition to these two elements, water in its composition has a huge list of chemical components.
What does water consist of?
She tends to transform, passing through the hydrological cycle: evaporation, condensation and precipitation. In the course of these phenomena, water comes into contact with many compounds of organic nature, with metals, gases, as a result of which the liquid is supplemented by various elements.
The elements that make up the water are divided into 6 categories:
- Jonah. These include: Na, K, Mg, Ca cations, anions: Cl, HCO 3 and SO 4. These components are in water in the greatest, in comparison with others, quantity. They enter the liquid from soil layers, natural minerals, rocks, and also as elements of the decay of industrial products.
- Dissolved gases: oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide and others. The amount of each gas in water directly depends on its temperature.
- Biogenic elements. The main ones are phosphorus and nitrogen, which enter the liquid from precipitation, sewage and agricultural water.
- Trace elements. There are about 30 species. Their indicators in the composition of water are very small and range from 0.1 to micrograms per 1 liter. These include: bromine, selenium, copper, zinc, etc.
- Organic substances dissolved in water and nitrogen-containing substances. These are alcohols, carbohydrates, aldehydes, phenols, peptides and more.
- Toxins These are mainly heavy metals and refined products.
Water molecule
So what are the molecules of water?
The water formula is trivial - H 2 O. And it shows that the water molecule consists of hydrogen and oxygen atoms. Between them a stable connection is established.
The mass of the molecule is 18.016 g / mol, where hydrogen accounts for 11.19%, and oxygen - 88.81%.
The water molecule is polar, because it does not have a specific center around which positive and negative charges are concentrated, but has two oppositely charged poles.
Water consists of atoms, the angle between which varies depending on the state of aggregation of the liquid. So, when it is in a gas state, the angle between hydrogen and oxygen is 104 about , in the solid state - 109 about . These indicators, as well as the distance between the atoms are also affected by the components present.
Molecule structure
It was previously considered what atoms water consists of. These are hydrogen and oxygen. The main role is played by oxygen. Negatively charged electrons are placed around this element, and positively charged protons are concentrated near hydrogen atoms. This ratio of the poles of the molecule affects the nature of the molecular bond - it is polar.
Since two hydrogen atoms are of the same charge, they respectively move away from each other. This affects the angle formed between oxygen and hydrogen atoms, it is 104.5 about . Due to the opposite pole, the water molecule is called a dipole. This property of her determines the unusual characteristics of the molecule.
What does a water molecule look like in space? To determine the shape of the molecule, the centers of atoms are connected by straight lines, as a result of which a three-dimensional figure — a tetrahedron — emerges. This is the structure of water.
The shape of a water molecule can change depending on its state of aggregation. The gaseous state is characterized by an angle between oxygen and hydrogen atoms of 104.2 °, for the solid state - 109.5 °, for the liquid - 105.03 °.
Those molecules that make up water occupy a certain volume in space, while their shells are covered with an electron cloud in the form of a veil. The type of an aqueous molecule considered in the plane is compared with the X-shaped chromosome, which serves to transmit genetic information, and, therefore, gives rise to a new life. From this form, an analogy is made of the chromosome and water as sources of life.
In space, the molecule looks like a volumetric triangle, a tetrahedron. This form is very stable and changes only due to the influence of external physical factors on water.
What does water consist of? Of those atoms that are subject to the influence of Van der Waals forces, the formation of hydrogen bonds. In this regard, random associates and clusters are formed between the oxygen and hydrogen of neighboring molecules. The former are disordered structures, the latter are ordered associates.
In the usual state of water, the number of associates is 60%, clusters - 40%.
Hydrogen bridges may form between adjacent water molecules, which contribute to the formation of various structures - clusters.
Clusters are able to interact with each other through hydrogen bonds, and this leads to the appearance of structures of a new order - hexagons.
Electronic structure of a water molecule
Atoms are what water consists of, and each atom has its own electronic structure. So, the graphic formula of the electronic levels looks like this: 8 1s 2 2s 2 2p 4 , 1 1s 1 .
When the process of water molecule formation takes place, the electron clouds overlap: two unpaired oxygen electrons overlap with 1 unpaired hydrogen electron. As a result of the overlap, an angle between the atoms of 104 ° is formed.
State of water
As already mentioned, water molecules are dipoles, and this fact affects the unusual properties of the substance. One of these properties is that water can be present in nature in three states of aggregation: liquid, solid, and vapor.
The transition from one state to another is due to the following processes:
- Boiling - from liquid to steam.
- Condensation is the transition of their vapor into liquid (precipitation).
- Crystallization - when a liquid turns into ice.
- Melting is the process of melting ice and producing liquid.
- Sublimation is the transformation of ice into a vaporous state.
- Desublimation is the reverse reaction of sublimation, that is, the transition of steam into ice.
The structure of its molecular lattice also depends on the state of water.
Conclusion
Thus, we can say that water is a complex substance with a simple structure, which can vary depending on its state. And it became clear to us what molecules water consists of.