Biological importance of water
The Biological Importance of Water
Water is perhaps the most important molecule for the survival and life of organisms. On the surface of the planet there is obviously much more area of water than land, which shows its significance. The fact that water makes up 60-95% of all living organisms shows the incredible biological importance of water.
Water has many uses and roles, one of them it being used as a support unit in plants. The uptake of water by plant cells creates a pressure against the rigid ce ll wall. This turgor pressure helps non-woody plants to remain upright. Water has a high specific tension and water molecules have cohesive forces holding them together, due to hydrogen bonding between water molecules. This allows water to be pulled through xylem in plants. It is also a transport medium, just like in animals, substances, such as ions are dissolved in it and carried in the xylem.
Hydrogen bonds are formed between the oxygen of one water molecule and the hydrogen of another. As a result of this, the water molecules have an attraction for each other known as cohesion. Another method of water movement up the xylem is by cohesion-tension theory. The molecules of water are attracted to the walls of the xylem (adhesion) due to its polar structure, and to each other (cohesion) so it moves up the stream because the walls of the lignified xylem can take the pressure. In transpiration water evaporates from the surface of the leaf, and therefore the substances from the soil are drawn up.
The sugars produced by photosynthesis are also dissolved in water and carried to respiring cells. Water is an essential ingredient in photosynthesis as it is where the oxygen comes from as water is split into oxygen, hydrogen ions and also electrons.
Water also plays an important role in transporting through the process osmosis. This is the net movement of water molecules from an area with high
Water is perhaps the most important molecule for the survival and life of organisms. On the surface of the planet there is obviously much more area of water than land, which shows its significance. The fact that water makes up 60-95% of all living organisms shows the incredible biological importance of water.
Water has many uses and roles, one of them it being used as a support unit in plants. The uptake of water by plant cells creates a pressure against the rigid ce ll wall. This turgor pressure helps non-woody plants to remain upright. Water has a high specific tension and water molecules have cohesive forces holding them together, due to hydrogen bonding between water molecules. This allows water to be pulled through xylem in plants. It is also a transport medium, just like in animals, substances, such as ions are dissolved in it and carried in the xylem.
Hydrogen bonds are formed between the oxygen of one water molecule and the hydrogen of another. As a result of this, the water molecules have an attraction for each other known as cohesion. Another method of water movement up the xylem is by cohesion-tension theory. The molecules of water are attracted to the walls of the xylem (adhesion) due to its polar structure, and to each other (cohesion) so it moves up the stream because the walls of the lignified xylem can take the pressure. In transpiration water evaporates from the surface of the leaf, and therefore the substances from the soil are drawn up.
The sugars produced by photosynthesis are also dissolved in water and carried to respiring cells. Water is an essential ingredient in photosynthesis as it is where the oxygen comes from as water is split into oxygen, hydrogen ions and also electrons.
Water also plays an important role in transporting through the process osmosis. This is the net movement of water molecules from an area with high