Why is water the universal solvent?

Water is identified with life, because it maintains the lives of every living creature ranging from the giant whale to a tiny and micro organism like bacteria. Human beings are not an exception. Water is our daily need and the absence of it causes harmful effects to our health, even leading us to death. The same is true about both plants and animals. But water not only makes these life supporting reactions possible. Water itself is often an important reactant or product of these reactions.

So, water is known to be the universal solvent. It’s due to the water’s ability to dissolve or mix with the other compounds. Because water molecule is comprised of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom, this makes the solvent polar. Hydrogen atoms are known to be positive while oxygen atom is negative. So when a compound is mixed with water, the negative pole of that compound binds with the positive hydrogen, therefore causing the dilution phenomenon.

As stated above, human beings need water to survive. We take in different kinds of foods everyday and some of which produce toxins that are really bad for the health and even the air we breathe may also cause toxic effects in our body. As a result of water being a universal solvent, it tends to purify these toxins when it reaches the kidneys and are eliminated through urination.

When we lose too much water, this leads to dehydration which then gets worse when left untreated. That is why before getting dehydrated, we must replenish our water supply immediately to avoid health deterioration.

Water also contains various minerals, nutrients and chemicals that are vital for our health. When we have sufficient amount of this solvent, we live up a healthy life as bodily needs are optimally met. Though water that is safe and clean to drink is not available in all areas, people must find ways to provide good source of potable water for daily needs.

Water, being a universal solvent, can also clean our skin, mouth and mucous membranes, for hygiene purposes such as brushing the teeth and washing our hands. We also need this for household use such as washing the clothes, dishes and utensils, cleaning basins, tubs and bathroom. Can we imagine if we have no water supply? It would be so difficult living our everyday lives without this solvent. That is why this reality prompts us to conserve more water as we know that our supply is diminishing each day.

to replenish water supply – пополнить запас воды

Exercise 21: Work with the group - Read the text once again and find out if the information is

a) True

b) False

c) The text doesn’t contain any information:

Questions	Answers
1.The chemical reactions in all plants and animals that support life take place in water.	*
2.About 70 to 90 percent of all organic matter is water.	*
3.Water is considered to be the universal solvent, due to its tendency to form hydrogen bonds with other molecules.	*
4.Nevertheless, not all the things dissolve in water.	*
5.Water as a solvent tends to purify the toxins which are really bad for our health.	*
6. Dehydration is a condition that occurs when the loss of body’s water exceeds the amount that is taken in.	*
7.People conserve much water as they know that the water supply is diminishing each day.	*

Exercise 22: It has been stated in the text that water maintains the life processes not only in plants and animals, but also keeps our organism functioning properly. Have a look at the picture and describe water functions in the human body:

Exercise 23: Work with a group - Answer the questions: