Everyone knows water is important in the human body, but what are the precise reasons?<\/p>\n
1.\u00a0 Water is liquid at body temperature.\u00a0 This point is obvious, yet important.<\/p>\n
2.\u00a0 Water is a very effective solvent.\u00a0 It doesn’t dissolve everything, of course:\u00a0 if it did, you wouldn’t have a body.\u00a0 However, water is very good at dissolving salts as well as simple organic molecules\u00a0that can form H-bonds (sugars, for example).<\/p>\n
3.\u00a0 Water molecules are strongly attracted to each other, so stick together.\u00a0\u00a0Therefore, water beads on a table surface when spilled, and\u00a0water\u00a0also can be drawn upwards in a straw.<\/p>\n
Water’s tendency to stick together (also called cohesiveness)\u00a0causes it to\u00a0move along in a unified\u00a0manner.\u00a0 Anything in the water must move with it, since the water molecules pull each other along.\u00a0 Hence, water is the transport\u00a0medium \u00a0in the human blood system.<\/p>\n
4.\u00a0 Water can release a great deal of heat without cooling down much.\u00a0 It can also absorb a great deal of heat while only slightly increasing its temperature.\u00a0 Therefore, water stabilizes the body’s temperature.\u00a0 As we’ll discuss in later posts, the body works best when its temperature stays at 37\u00b0C.<\/p>\n
5.\u00a0 Adding to point 4:\u00a0 water consumes tremendous energy as it evaporates.\u00a0 Therefore,\u00a0sweating cools the body\u00a0very effectively, guarding against overheating.<\/p>\n
6.\u00a0 Water functions as a lubricant in the body.\u00a0 In saliva it helps the food move easily down the esophagus.\u00a0 In synovial fluid it lubricates the knee joint.<\/p>\n
Sources:<\/p>\n
Inquiry into LIfe<\/em>, 11th edition, by Sylvia S. Mader.\u00a0 McGraw-Hill:\u00a0 2006.<\/p>\n Biology 12, Module 1:\u00a0 Cell Biology 1<\/em>.\u00a0 Open School BC:\u00a0 2007.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Tutoring biology 12, the\u00a0six (or so) functions of water in the human body comprise an early theme. Everyone knows water is important in the human body, but what are the precise reasons? 1.\u00a0 Water is liquid at body temperature.\u00a0 This …<\/p>\n