Explain why water is polar and how that polarity produces hydrogen bonding.
Name water's key properties, cohesion, adhesion, high specific heat, and solvency, and tie each to a real consequence.
State what pH measures and place common body fluids on the pH scale.
What the lesson concludes
Water is polar because oxygen pulls shared electrons more strongly than hydrogen does, leaving a partial negative charge on oxygen and a partial positive charge on each hydrogen.
Hydrogen bonds between water molecules explain cohesion, adhesion, high specific heat, and the fact that ice floats.
Water's polarity makes it an excellent solvent for ionic and polar substances, but a poor one for nonpolar substances such as fats.
pH is a log scale from 0 to 14, with 7 neutral, below 7 acidic, and above 7 basic, and small changes represent large shifts in hydrogen ion concentration.
Blood is normally kept in a narrow range around pH 7.35 to 7.45, and even small drifts outside that range are treated as a medical emergency.