What are the properties of water that are important for life to be able to exist?
First, its polarity, which arises from the fact that water is a bent molecule and not a linear molecule. This polarity gives water the capacity to make hydrogen bonds with other water molecules, causing water to be a liquid at room temperature, despite its low molecular weight, (18 g/mol). Natural gas (CH4) has a molar mass of 16 g/mol and is a gas at room temperature, why? Lack of hydrogen bonding capability in the methane molecule. If water had happened to be linear, the dipoles on the O-H bonds will cancel perfectly, so it could not be a liquid. Each water molecule is surrounded by four other water molecules, so to vaporize water, those hydrogen bonds have to be broken, as you know, a temperature of 100 ˚C is required. Also, water has a wide range of temperatures in which is a liquid, 0˚C to 100 ˚C, perfect for our planet, in which those extremes are not easily reached (at least the 100 ˚C required to make all the water vapor is not reached, that is 212 ˚F and the highest temperatur
