Water as a Solvent
- Water is important for all living organisms as many substances are able to dissolve in it (it is a solvent)
- This makes it incredibly useful and essential for all life on Earth
- Water is important as a solvent in the following situations within organisms:
- Dissolved substances can be easily transported around organisms - e.g. xylem and phloem of plants and dissolved food molecules in the blood
- Digested food molecules are in the lumen of the intestines but need to be moved to cells all over the body - without water as a solvent this would not be able to happen
- Toxic substances such as urea and substances in excess of requirements such as salts can dissolve in water which makes them easy to remove from the body in urine
- Water is also an important part of the cytoplasm and plays a role in ensuring metabolic reactions can happen as necessary in cellsĀ
Water as a solvent diagram
Water as a solvent
