Chemical and Physical Properties of Water

Water has no taste, no color, no odor; it cannot be defined, art relished while ever mysterious.
Not necessary to life, but rather life itself. It fills us with a gratification that exceeds the delight of the senses.

ANTOINE DE SAINT-EXUPERY (1900-1944), Wind, Sand, and Stars, 1939

Here are some questions on the unique properties of water.

1.  Frozen water or ice is quite unusual in that it __________  liquid water.
A. Floats on
B. Sinks in
C. is suspended in
D. levitates over                                                                                    

2. Water vapor is :
A. as dense as carbon dioxide
B. lighter than Helium
C. cooler than the dew point of an air parcel
D. more buoyant than dry air
E. heavier than air

3. Water is known as the universal ______________.
A.  Constant
B.  Thermal Interface
C.  Solvent
D.  Conductor
E. Toy for Scientists

4. At four degrees centigrade (4° C) water expands on
A. Warming
B. Chilling
C. Both A and B
D. Not at all, water is uncompress able

5.   Hot and cold water have different properties. Which of these is NOT true:
 as cold liquid water is heated
A .  the speed of sound within it increases
B.  it conducts heat better
C. gasses become less soluble
as hot liquid water is heated:
D. it shrinks
E.  it becomes easier to compress

6.  Viscosity measures a fluid's internal flow resistance. Water flows relatively easily in comparison to olive oil.
Under 34° C , what happens to water's viscous flow as pressure increases? It:
A. Does not change until you get to exceedingly high pressures of over 400 atmospheres.
B. Becomes even lower than normal
C. Increases dramatically
D. Remains  relatively stable
E. Becomes stickier

7.   Heon Kang and his colleagues in South Korea ran across Warm Ice or frozen water at room temperature, serendipitously. What had they inadvertently done to crystalize water at their ambient laboratory temperature?
A. Increased the salinity of the water abruptly.
B. Enclosed the a sample in a diamond anvil cell and increase the pressure to 200 Mpa.
C. Applied a couple of million or so volts to the sample with a scanning tunneling microscope (STM).
D. Exposed the surface to near vacuum while examining the sample with neutron activation analysis
E. Used a bench top Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) machine.

8. In stratiform and cumulus clouds, airplanes often run into this form of water which consequently causes serious
 problems with lift.
A.  Supersaturated
B.  Diamond Dust
C.  Vitrified
D.  Supercooled
E.  Dehydrated

9. Imagine  a ice cube. Obviously, when  the temperature increases it melts. However, it is possible to liquefy water ice without changing the temperature by:
A.  Electrodialyzing

B.  Applying a couple of million or so volts to the cube.
C.  Subliminating it.
D.  Performing an ultrasound scan.
E.   Increasing the atmospheric pressure.

10.  Specific heat is the amount of energy per unit mass required to raise the temperature by one degree Celsius or Kelvin.  H2O has the highest specific heat for a common substance. This means it is very hard to heat up. In what phase does water have the highest specific heat, twice as high as its other forms?
A. Solid
B. Liquid
C. Gas
D. Plasma


Bonus question:
Most people have seen broken water pipes caused by subzero temperatures. So they know that water unlike most other liquids expands when frozen by about nine percent at sea level. How would that expansion ratio change if you increase atmospheric pressure?

 For further reading:
Sixty-three anomalies of water
Why is Mars Dry?
The Original Water Cycle

"All the water that will ever be is, right now."
                                        "National Geographic, October 1993


 


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