WaterEdexcel A-Level Biology B: Flashcards
What these 13 flashcards ask
- Why is water a dipole?
- What is a hydrogen bond in water?
- Why does water have a high specific heat capacity?
- Why is high specific heat capacity useful to organisms?
- Why is water a good solvent?
- Give two examples of solutes transported in water in organisms.
- What is cohesion?
- What is surface tension and why does it matter?
- What does incompressible mean?
- Why is incompressibility important in organisms?
- At what temperature is liquid water densest?
- Why is ice less dense than liquid water?
- How does the floating of ice help pond organisms?
Exam questions on Water
- A pond skater is a small insect that walks and rests on the surface of a pond without sinking, even though its body is denser than water.Explain how surface tension arises at the surface of the pond.2 marks
- In winter the surface of a deep pond freezes, but the water at the bottom stays liquid at about 4 °C and the fish living in the pond survive.Explain how the properties of water help the fish in the pond to survive the winter.2 marks
- Blood plasma is about 90% water. It carries dissolved glucose, mineral ions and urea around the body, and it carries heat from active muscles to the skin. Blood is pumped at high pressure through narrow vessels without any noticeable change in its volume.Explain why water is suitable as a solvent for transporting glucose and mineral ions in the blood.3 marks
Written by the Exaim team, led by Shaun Daswani (Head of Upper Secondary, Improve ME Institute; MSc Financial Mathematics, Imperial College London; BSc, UCL) and Jason Daswani (operational lead, Improve ME Institute; LSE).