Property : High Polarity
Activity #1 Surface Tension: PILE IT ON.
Materials: 1 DRY penny, 1 eye dropper, water.
Procedure: Make sure the penny is dry. Begin
by estimating the number of drops of water that can
be piled on the penny before it spills over. Gently
place drops of water on the penny until the water
spills over. Record the results.
Activity #2 Surface Tension: THE “FLOATING” PAPER CLIP
Materials: paper clip, container with water, ice.
Procedure: Using a steady hand, see if you can get the
paper clip to rest on the surface of the water in
such a way that it will not sink. After you
succeed, place a piece of ice in the water and answer the
questions on your answer sheet.
Activity #3: WATER AS A SOLVENT
Because of its high polarity, water is called the universal
solvent. A solvent is a substance that
dissolves, or breaks apart, another substance (known
as a solute). A general rule that determines
whether a substance will dissolve in a solvent depends
upon its polarity. Polar solvents dissolve
polar solutes and nonpolar solvents dissolve nonpolar
solutes.
In this activity, you will compare the ability of water,
alcohol, and vegetable oil to dissolve certain
solids. CAUTION: Rubbing alcohol is flammable,
an eye irritant, and has fumes.
Materials: graduated cylinder, 40 mL of alcohol, 3 beakers,
9 test tubes, test-tube rack, 40 mL of water,
40 mL of vegetable oil, sugar, salt, and margarine.
Procedure:
1. Number your test tubes (TT) 1-9.
2. Pour 10 mL of water into TT marked 1-3.
3. Pour 10 mL of alcohol into TT marked 4-6.
4. Pour 10 mL of vegetable oil into TT marked 7-9.
5. Place a cap full of sugar in TT 1, 4, & 7.
6. Place a cap full of salt in 2, 5, & 8.
7. Place a small piece of margarine in TT 3, 6, & 9.
8. Cover each TT with your thumb and shake. How well does each solvent dissolve the solute?
9. Observe and record the results.
10. Wash the TT with soap & water and reorganize
the station so that it is ready for the next class.
Activity #4 Polarity: The Magnets
What is polarity? Move the magnets around
each other. Notice the orientation they are in
when they are attracted to each other. Notice what
happens when you put two magnets with the same
ends together. How is this an example of the water
molecule?
Property: High Specific Heat and Heat of Vaporization
Activity #5: Comparing Water to Alcohol
Materials: 2 beakers, 2 thermometers, alcohol, water, stop watch, hot plate, goggles.
Procedure: READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE STARTING!
1. In one beaker measure out 30 mL of alcohol and in the other measure out 30 mL of water.
2. Record the temperature of both the alcohol and the water.
3. Place both beakers on a hot plate at the same time and heat them for 1 minute.
4. Remove both beakers from the hot plate at the same time and record their temperatures.
5. Allow the beakers to cool for around 2 minutes and record their temperatures again.
6. Dump out the old water and alcohol and measure out 20 mL of alcohol and 20 mL of water.
7. Place both beakers on the hot plate simultaneously and time how long it takes each liquid to boil.
8. Measure the temperature of the boiling liquids
and record them on your record table.
Activity #6 Chemistry of Living Things:
Look at the elements and compounds that make up living
things. Approximately 96 % of your body
mass is composed of the elements oxygen, hydrogen, carbon,
and nitrogen. The remaining 4% includes
phosphorous, sulfur, sodium chloride, magnesium, potassium,
iron, and iodine. Consider your body
mass. How many pounds of each element/compound would
you expect to find in your body?
The Properties of Water
(student handout)
Biology A Hour 1 2 3 4 5 Name .
Activity #1: Pile it On ESTIMATE: ACTUAL AMOUNT: .
1. What property of water allows the water droplets to pile up
on the penney?
2. Define the following:
cohesion -
adhesion-
surface tension-
Activity #2 The “Floating” Paper Clip
3. What does it mean to “float”?
.
Is the paper clip actually floating?
Explain.
4. What property of water allows a paper clip to rest on its surface? .
Activity #3 The Super Solvent
| Substance | Water | Alcohol | Vegetable Oil | Key |
| Sugar | +++ dissolves ~100% | |||
| Salt | ++ or + partial dissolve | |||
| Margarine | 0 did not dissolve |
5. Which solvent dissolved the best?
.
6. What gives water the ability to dissolve things?
.
7. What general rule determines whether a solute will dissolve in a
solvent?
.
8. From this experiment would you conclude that sugar is polar
or nonpolar? Explain.
Activity #5 Specific Heat and Heat of Vaporization
Data Table: Difference Between Alcohol and Water
| Before Hot Plate | After 1 minute | After cooling 2 min. | Time to Boil | Boiling point | |
| Temp. of WATER | |||||
| Temp. ALCOHOL |
9. Which liquid changed temperatures the fastest?
.
10. Which liquid took longest to boil?
.
Activity #6 Compounds in Living Things:
Your Total body weight: .
C= H2O= Ca= S= NaCl= Mg= P= N= .
11. What are the four most common elements in your body?
.
Biology of Water Part I
(Video Wordsheet)
1. Why is Earth unique in our solar system? .
2. Of the 9 planets in our solar system, it is only on Earth that water exists in its three matter.
3. Water is so important to living things that at least
or more of the average weight of a plant
or animal is made up of water. Human
beings are nearly %water.
Water! General Physical and Chemical Properties
4. Most water is -less, -less, -less , and fairly commonplace.
5. As a chemical, water is extremely unusual.
A. water possesses
great
.
B. water is
a powerful
.
C. water provides
an excellent
for chemical reactions.
D. water can
absorb and release more
than almost any other substance.
The Effects of Molecular Structure: H2O
6. Bonds between and are very strong resulting in a very stable substance.
-
7. Its lopsided shape O
makes it act like a chemical
with a end and a
end.
H H
+
8. Ice is dense than water. Floating ice acts as .
Heat Capacity: Climatic Effects
9. Water has the ability to hold and release large amounts of .
10. As a consequence, tropical oceans
heat, which then moderates the effect of sudden and
drastic temperature changes in the Earth’s
climate.
Latent Heat: Changes of State and Heat Effects
11. Water gives up a large amount of heat simply by changing from a
to a
, as
happens during freezing. The heat
given off during freezing may prevent blossoms from freezing.
12. When ice thaws, it absorbs , causing heat to be extracted from its surroundings.
13. Similar examples of heat absorption are observed as water
changes from a
to a , or
from a
to a
.
14. Latent heat in the atmosphere is what creates patterns.
15.
bonds are weak links between other water molecules. The skin
on the surface of water,
called
tension, is a result of this.