What accounts for water's properties of adhesion and cohesion?

The properties of water, such as cohesion and adhesion, are dues to the nature of water, which is polar.

Further Explanation:

A molecule of water is formed from the attachment of two hydrogen atoms with the same oxygen atom. The oxygen atom shares its lone pair of electrons with the hydrogen atoms forming a covalent bond. Water is considered polar due to the presence of partially positive hydrogen atoms and the partially negative oxygen atom. A hydrogen bond is formed due to the electrostatic attraction between the partial negative and positive charges. The water's ability to dissolve molecules and ions is attributed to its polarity.

Cohesion is a property of water that enables it to withstand under stress conditions. During cohesion, surface tension is created on the water as the hydrogen bonds are held together. This keeps the water molecules with each other at the interface of water-air. It allows the build-up of surface tension, which is the capacity of a substance to stand up against rupture when kept in the condition of stress and tension. Surface tension and cohesion helps the hydrogen bonds in water to remain intact and support the substance floating over it.

The water tends to attract itself, but in some other circumstances, it gets attracted to other molecules also. Water shows adhesion, which is the attraction of water molecules to other substances, especially the ones bearing negative or positive charges. For example, when the water moves upward in a glass tube placed within a water beaker, the force responsible is adhesion. The movement of water in the above direction against gravity is called capillary action. It depends on the interaction between individual water molecules (cohesion) and also an attraction between the walls of the tube and the water molecules (adhesion).

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Answer Details:

Grade: High school

Chapter: Water

Subject: Biology

Keywords:

Water, hydrogen bond, hydrogen, oxygen, electrostatic attraction, cohesion, adhesion, capillary action, polarity, covalent bond, stress condition.

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